REGINA - 2023 turned out to be an unexpectedly turbulent year at the Saskatchewan legislature.
It was a year dominated by turbulent relations between the Saskatchewan Party government and the federal Liberals on the Carbon Tax and the clean electricity regulations. It was turbulent on the labour scene with teachers threatening to take job action. And it was turbulent with protests both outside and inside the Saskatchewan Legislature.
Here is a look at some of the hottest news stories in provincial politics in 2023:
Budget 2023 — billion dollar surplus turns into deficit by year's end
Strong resource revenues led to a good-news budget in 2023 with Minister of Finance Donna Harpauer announcing a $1 million surplus in the spring.
That prompted criticism from the Opposition that the “windfall revenues” weren’t being used to address affordability issues seen in the province. As it turned out, the good fiscal news didn’t last, as drought conditions and reduced resource prices wreaked havoc on that projected surplus. By the end of 2023 Saskatchewan was reporting a $250.5 million deficit.
Saskatchewan First Act is passed
One of the major items of the legislature sitting in the spring was final passage of the Saskatchewan First Act. This was the major legislation aimed at protecting its jurisdictional authority over natural resources from federal intrusion. It passed in March, with the government adding on amendment affirming treaty rights under s.35 of the Constitution. But that didn’t stop First Nations and Métis opponents from coming to the Legislature to show their opposition during the final vote.
Health care struggles continue
Health care was an ongoing issue at the Legislature throughout 2023, with the government focused on continuing its Health Human Resources Action Plan efforts to recruit health care professionals. But the opposition New Democrats continued to hammer the government over long wait times and overcrowding in hospitals including fire code violations at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon, as well as concerns about ambulance availability. They also raised concerns over use of a private Calgary clinic for breast cancer diagnostics to reduce the backlog.
One big issue for Premier Scott Moe and other premiers was trying to get a new health care funding agreement with the Feds. That did come through early in 2023, following the premiers meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with Saskatchewan getting a one-time $61 million investment from the Feds as well as $111 million annually to the $6.4 billion provincial healthcare budget. While premiers signed on, they nevertheless voiced concern the amount wasn’t enough.
Social services a hot issue
Issues in social services and housing were hot issues throughout the year. A particularly hot topic during the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention was the Saskatchewan Income Support program, with criticism that the program wasn’t doing enough to stop people from becoming homeless.
In the fall the government announced it would be spending $40.2 million over two years to help people who are unhoused in the province, pledging to create 155 new supportive housing units in Regina and Saskatoon and 120 new permanent emergency shelter spaces.
But controversy erupted in the fall when New Democrats accused a motel owned by Regina Northeast MLA Gary Grewal of inflating motel bills to social services clients — bills the Ministry was picking up the tab for.
MLA resignations, and the death of Derek Meyers
The Legislature saw the departure of three MLAs in the spring — two due to the resignations of Mark Docherty and Lyle Stewart, and sadly one who lost his battle with cancer.
Regina Walsh Acres MLA Derek Meyers died on March 28. Question Period was suspended on that day; it was followed the next day by tributes and statements from MLAs mourning his passing.
Byelection results
The vacancies in those three Saskatchewan ridings were filled during byelections in early August. In the byelections the NDP took two of the three seats away from the Saskatchewan Party.
Jared Clarke took Regina Walsh Acres and Noor Burki took Regina Coronation Park for the NDP, while Blaine McLeod retained Lumsden-Morse for the Sask. Party.
Opposition Leader Carla Beck pointed to the wins as creating momentum for the New Democrats heading into 2024, but they weren’t the only opposition party feeling good about their results.
Rise of Sask United Party
After months of work behind the scenes, the Saskatchewan United Party finally officially launched in 2023, with the Lumsden-Morse byelection being their first electoral test. The party, which has taken some hard-conservative stances including opposition to vaccine mandates, created some ripples in political circles when their candidate Jon Hromek ran second with over 20 percent of the vote in that race.
Cabinet shuffle and departure of Don Morgan
With 2024 approaching as an election year, there was plenty of news and speculation about which MLAs planned to run again. One of the biggest news stories came from longtime cabinet minister and SaskParty mainstay Don Morgan, who announced he would not be seeking re-election.
With Environment Minister Dana Skoropad also announcing he was not seeking re-election, that prompted a cabinet shuffle which saw several ministers shuffled to new roles. That included Everett Hindley to Health, Paul Merriman to Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, Christine Tell to Environment, Lori Carr to Highways, and Jeremy Cockrill to Education.
Planned Parenthood controversy in Lumsden
One issue the Sask United Party had particularly raised were concerns over a Planned Parenthood presentation at a high school in Lumsden in which explicit and age-inappropriate sex cards were displayed.
That prompted a response from the then-Education Minister Dustin Duncan who suspended Planned Parenthood from presenting in sex education classes in schools.
Special sitting on Parents Bill of Rights Act
What followed was legislation introducing the Parents Bill of Rights which went well beyond the notifications to parents of sexual health content in schools to also include provisions requiring parental consent for gender-related name changes for those under 16.
That legislation, which came after their announced provincial policy to that effect was suspended by the courts, proved controversial. Particularly controversial were the provisions invoking the Notwithstanding Clause to override the Charter of Rights and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.
The government called a special two-week sitting of the Legislature prior to the Fall Session to deal with the issue, and despite protests outside the Legislature days of speeches in opposition from the New Democrats, the bill finally passed.
Ryan Domotor arrested
Scandal rocked the Legislature in November upon word that Cut Knife-Turtleford MLA Ryan Domotor was charged with obtaining sexual services for consideration, after being arrested a Regina Police human-trafficking sting operation. Premier Moe immediately booted out Domotor from the Sask Party caucus. He is due in court in the new year.
Nov. 20 protest
Soon after, the Legislature was rocked by another protest, this time a disruption of the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly by a large group of pro-Palestine participants who chanted “Ceasefire Now!” in opposition to the conflict involving Israel and Hamas.
Accusations flew from political leaders in the days afterwards with the Moe government accusing opposition MLAs of direct involvement and a “secret meeting” with protest organizers.
The opposition denied involvement, accusing the government of trying to distract from their own scandals.
In the end the government backed off from an investigation of the Opposition’s involvement. The bitter feelings that ensued over the issue lasted right to the final day of the session which saw Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison apologize and Regina Elphinstone-Centre MLA Meara Conway suspended for the day following a heated exchange over the issue.
Education labour strife
Education issues, and education funding, were a top story throughout the year. One major event that took place was a rally for public education in the spring outside the Legislature in which over 3,000 attended.
A looming issue facing the province in the fall of 2023 was the spectre of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation potentially walking off the job. 95 per cent of teachers voted in favor of job sanctions in the fall, and by the end of the year the union reported talks were in an impasse situation. What could happen next in 2024 is the union going through with job action, which could range from pulling teachers off of extracurriculars, to potentially holding a full-blown strike.
COP28
One item that made the news late in 2023 was Saskatchewan’s participation at the COP28 conference on climate change in Dubai.
Saskatchewan hosted a pavilion at the conference featuring presentations and panel discussions, aimed at promoting industry sustainability efforts and a message of a Strong Sustainable Saskatchewan. But the pavilion, and Premier Moe’s trip to COP28, came under fire from the Opposition who blasted the $765,000 price tag, as well as costs for advertising and hotels. The opposition dismissed it as the most expensive trip in Saskatchewan history, but the government insisted the goal was to provide a platform for businesses to tell the Saskatchewan story.
Disputes with Feds on electricity, carbon tax
An ongoing story throughout 2023 were the disputes between Premier Scott Moe and the federal government over policies impacting the energy sector, including electricity and oil and gas.
At the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, Premier Moe took aim at the federal net-zero 2035 targets and made clear the province would not be on board with the federal Clean Electricity Regulations.
Later in the year, the province announced its formal response. "The federal government's approach, in an attempt to regulate Saskatchewan's electricity system, is unaffordable, unconstitutional and technologically and logistically unattainable," Crown Investments Corporation Minister Dustin Duncan said in a statement. "The proposed Clean Electricity Regulations will jeopardize the reliability of Saskatchewan's power grid, and increase power rates to an unaffordable level."
As the new session got under way in the fall, the Moe government was handed another gift of an issue courtesy of the Trudeau Liberals, who had announced a carveout of the Carbon Tax on home heating oil primarily impacting Atlantic Canada.
That perceived special treatment for Atlantic Canada prompted Premier Moe to announce SaskEnergy would no longer be submitting the Carbon Tax on natural gas for home heating, and later doing the same for electricity used to heat homes.
Enabling legislation was brought in, and the new year began with the Carbon Tax removed from home heating to start 2024.
