Sask. Legislature grapples with western separatism, tariffs in spring sitting
Whiplash pace of 8-week sitting reflects break-neck developments throughout Canada
A legislative sitting that began in March with a focus on the threat of tariffs ended on Thursday with discussions about Saskatchewan's future in Canada.
The whiplash pace of the eight-week sitting reflects the break-neck pace of developments throughout Canada.
Saskatchewan's spring sitting opened on March 19, with Finance Minister Jim Reiter tabling the government's annual budget that day.
It was a rare move. Sittings normally open with a few weeks of business before the budget is tabled.
The Official Opposition immediately criticized the decision, saying it was proof that the government was uninterested in accountability.
The Saskatchewan NDP's dissatisfaction grew once it became clear that Reiter's budget projected a slim surplus of $12.1 million and had no contingencies to deal with the threat of tariffs from the United States and China.
NDP finance critic Trent Wotherspoon tore into the budget in March.
As the sitting continued, so too did Wotherspoon's attacks. He pointed to the falling price of oil and the province's decision to end its Output-Based Performance Standards (OBPS) program, which taxes large industrial emitters as a reason for to disbelieve the budget's surplus.
"This was a budget that really was off track from the get go, and certainly didn't step up as well to the challenges and pressures that people are facing," Wotherspoon said.
Although the NDP has used a larger caucus to try to get answers from the government, the Opposition has been frustrated by a Sask. Party government that has used its majority to not give an inch.
Private member's bills from the Opposition did not receive a vote, while efforts in committees were voted down by government MLAs.
The NDP attempted a variety of stunts this sitting. First, MLAs attempted to to wear Team Canada jerseys into the legislature. That quickly failed.
Wotherspoon later put a physical copy of the provincial budget through a shredder, saying it emphasized how the budget wasn't worth the paper it was printed on.
Premier Scott Moe and Reiter have emphasized that their decision to project a surplus would give the province the financial freedom to act as necessary.
Western separatism
The focus in the legislature quickly shifted after federal Liberal Leader Mark Carney earned a minority government.
The familiar threat of western separation became the main topic in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Moe told media on Thursday that he's made himself clear: secession and separation are not an option.
"I truly believe there is an opportunity for Saskatchewan to grow and prosper within a united Canada. It's in the very fabric of the party that I lead," Moe said.
"I think it's very much at the core of what, if not the majority, virtually all of Saskatchewan people believe as well."
That did not stop NDP Leader Carla Beck from repeatedly calling the premier's commitment to Canada into question.
Despite her best efforts, Beck was unsuccessful in getting her Keep Saskatchewan in Canada Act passed. The act would have amended Saskatchewan's Referendum and Plebiscite Act to exclude separation referendums from the list of referendums that the premier or legislative assembly would be legally allowed to call.
It would have also raise the threshold for successful citizen petitions on separation referendums, requiring signatures from 30 per cent of eligible voters instead of 15 per cent.
On Thursday, Beck said the embers of western separatism are burning in Saskatchewan and the act would've been a way of putting an end to those efforts.
"Scott Moe is holding a big bucket of water right now. He could douse those flames, make it clear today, but instead he seems to be more interested in placating those who want to burn the house down," Beck said.
The act died on the order paper without even receiving a second reading. Saskatchewan Party MLAs voted down every effort, after Moe described the bill as silencing the voices of the province's people.
As the province's politicians head home for the summer, Moe already has his next political move laid out.
Moe posted 10 changes the federal government "must make" to reset Ottawa's relationship with Saskatchewan.
It's a list Moe promised to bring up when he meets with Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada's other premiers next month in Saskatoon.
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