REGINA — The opposition New Democrats were still fuming on Wednesday on word that the spring sitting of the Saskatchewan Legislature won’t start until March 19.
Opposition Leader Carla Beck and House Leader Nicole Sarauer roasted the government at a media availability Wednesday at the Legislature building. They pointed to continued concerns about tariffs from US President Donald Trump as reason enough for the Legislature to resume.
“It seems that the Sask Party, despite all of this, can't even be bothered to show up to the office to come in and punch the clock,” Beck said.
Trump had already announced steel and aluminum tariffs and could reimpose 25 per cent tariffs at the end of a 30-day pause period on March 4. Beck pointed to the tariff threats again as reiterated her party’s call for an early emergency sitting to deal with the issue.
“Now for weeks we've been calling on these guys to reopen the Legislature and get back to work. But unfortunately, late yesterday, they announced that they're going to be kicking that can down the road and they're going to be doing the bare minimum… Meanwhile, we're on track to see not one, but two rounds of job-killing tariffs before then. That means that by the time that this legislature sits again, Saskatchewan steel could be facing 50 per cent export tariffs.”
The return date of March 19 is roughly two and a half weeks later than when the spring sitting usually starts in Saskatchewan, which is normally the first week of March. The NDP also noted the sitting will be as short as possible within the rules, with the final day being May 15 -- around the usual time when the Legislature normally breaks for the summer. The previous fall sitting after the provincial election was also abbreviated, lasting only ten days.
The spring sitting will begin with the tabling of the provincial budget by Finance Minister Jim Reiter. When asked, House Leader Sarauer couldn’t recall the last time a spring sitting had opened with a budget address.
“What we see here, instead of a sense of urgency, the Sask Party is offering a late start and two and a half weeks short compared to what we've seen in recent years,” Beck said.
“These guys again are doing as little as possible at a time when Saskatchewan people rightly expect that we're all working around the clock to protect our future.”
As for what the NDP wanted to see done in the Legislature, Beck wanted an an opportunity for the government to be accountable on updating the latest with tariffs and what counter plans might be. She also pointed to the anxiety being felt across the province on the issue, and the need for a Team Saskatchewan approach.
“We could be passing unanimous motions. We could be inviting the voices of producers, industry groups, those on the front lines to the legislature to ensure that when we're in discussion with the federal government about a response, that their voices are on the table. Basic accountability around financial issues, I mean, the list goes on and on. Again, not only are we not seeing an emergency session, we are seeing two and a half weeks less accountability at a time when I think we need more.”
Sarauer echoed Beck’s thoughts and pointed out there are “a lot of options available when the legislature's in session. When we're not, we're not able to do any of those quick responses. We'll have to wait until the 19th. So we think that that is not helpful to Saskatchewan people.
“I know people want to see us at work in the legislature debating these things and being ready to be able to act quickly to respond to whatever's coming next ... Again, what we've been hearing from a number of stakeholders, from industry, from producers, from those on the front line, has been the lack of accountability, the lack of details. People, rightfully, are alarmed.”
As for the session itself, Sarauer acknowledged there wasn’t a substantive amount of legislation coming before the Assembly from the government.
“I can say that their legislative agenda currently before the House is rather short,” said Sarauer. That was not to say, she added, that “there isn't a ton of work that needs to happen” in the legislature.
“There is two bills that we passed in the fall sitting by consent, and I think there's about 10 or so that are left to be passed… It's typically light after an election. That's not surprising. But there is a lot of work that happens in the Legislature, as you well know, aside from simply debating bills that have been introduced in the fall. The fall almost seems like a lifetime ago compared to what we've gone through over the last few months. We weren't talking about tariffs during the last session. A lot has happened since then, so there's a lot to be talked about in this session.”
Moe responds
Last week, Premier Scott Moe was part of the Council of the Federation delegation that held meetings with officials in Washington D.C. on the tariff issue. Moe is now back in the province and spoke to reporters today in Saskatoon, where he was asked about the two-and-a-half-week delay to March 19.
He said that it "would be rare in the extent that it happens every four years in an election year, and if you look back it's actually the norm."
As for Beck's comments about the government doing "the bare minimum," Moe replied "she may not be aware what the norm is and I would ask why." He also pointed to the efforts the government has been actively pursuing.
"We have been engaging with our partners. We have met with for example Secretary (Doug) Burgum, he's the Secretary of the Interior; Sec.(Chris) Wright, he's the Secretary of Energy in the Trump administration. Those are the people we need to be meeting with on behalf of Saskatchewan industries, Saskatchewan jobs and Saskatchewan families. We'll have much time to talk to the Leader of the Opposition and the various critics that they have. I would suggest that they are not influential in the Trump administration and we need to take the time we have now to engage with those that are."
As for why they are introducing the budget on the opening day of the spring sitting, Moe said it was his understanding it had happened a number of times before but said he would double-check on that.
