Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly.

• Author: Margaret A. Woods

The inaugural session of the 23nd Legislature opened on February 29, 1995, with Lieutenant Governor John Wiebe announcing a "quiet revolution" of fundamental changes to education, health care, municipal government and welfare programs.

Highlights of the proposed legislative calendar include: restructuring the Provinces's 846 local governments, revising the municipal tax assessment system, devising a province-wide 9-1-1 emergency service and introducting restrictions on private health facilities. Also outlined were tougher child support enforcement laws and the establishment of a trade and export corporation. University administration costs are to be cut in addition to "wide ranging reforms to our education and training programs". Agricultural initiatives centered upon revising the crop insurance program and the provision of $200 million over four years for agricultural research. The recommendations of last year's legislative committee on Driving Safety for stiffer drunk driving penalties and new rules for new drivers are also to be addressed.

Opposition Leader Ron Osika criticized the speech, stating that it failed to present any initiatives to address the province's economic problems. He argued that the absence of tax relief would adversely affect job creation and economic activity. PC Leader Bill Boyd made similar claims and feared a "noisy and boisterous revolution" -not the government's "quiet revolution" - if the educational and local government reforms repeated the experience with health reform. Both opposition parties also believed that rural Saskatchewan was being ignored by the government.

Budget

Finance Minister Janice Mackinnon delivered her second successive balanced budget on March 28th. The budget contained a four-year plan to safeguard health, education and social services by providing $110 million in new provincial funding to replace federal cuts in 1996-97 and to replace 96% of the $252 million federal cuts to these core services during the period of 1999 to 2000. Also provided in the Budget was a plan for four consecutive balanced budgets, no tax increases for individuals, families or small business and a plan to reduce the provincial debt by $2.4 million from 1994 to 2000. The Minister did announce the elimination of 544 government jobs, a $10 million reduction in postsecondary funding and a $20 million reduction to municipal governments.

Mr. Osika accused the government of tricking the...