REGINA - The opposition New Democrats have made clear they are not thrilled with either the parental consent bill being introduced by the government, nor the amount of time allotted in the special sitting to pass it.
Opposition House Leader Nicole Sarauer accused the government of trying to “ram through this legislation” in speaking to reporters at the Legislature Wednesday.
Sarauer made known her concerns that the bill was being rushed ahead in a couple of weeks, instead of over a period of months when there could be adequate consultation.
“It’s a really important bill, it’s using the Notwithstanding Clause to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” said Sarauer.
"We believe it deserves the scrutiny that the seriousness of this bill regards. At the very least it should be like any other piece of legislation. There’s no reason why this bill hadn’t been introduced in the fall sitting, which would have resulted in months of scrutiny from the public. Instead, we’re seeing the government call a special sitting, call rule changes that will result in days of scrutiny rather than the typical months. We oppose that. We think this should have the scrutiny it deserves.”
When asked what the Opposition could do, Sarauer said “not much, to be honest. We’re in the opposition. So government will move a motion, eventually, it will go to a vote and we will lose that vote. And then we will fight this bill as much as we can.”
She added the only way the parental consent bill will be defeated is “if it is repealed by a new NDP government.”
The Sask Party government has already given its Notice of Introduction on Bill 137 - The Parents Bill Of Rights Act, and it will be introduced in the Legislature Thursday. They are also moving to have a maximum of 40 hours of debate time, which they say is double the usual amount for a bill, as well as extra sitting days on Fridays and Saturdays and possibly even into next Sunday for debate.
Sarauer did not want to reveal much about what they plan to do from a procedural playbook. But as far as the hours are concerned, she did acknowledge there was very little they can do, as it was part of the government motion giving two days notice and will only require a majority vote, not unanimous consent, to be imposed.
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