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- 🗳 A New Beginning
🗳 A New Beginning
Sask. Party outlines legislative priorities, NDP responds to the Throne Speech, and the MLA from Melfort is elected as the new Speaker.
November 26, 2024 | Advertise with us
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Good morning! Yesterday was a big day in Saskatchewan politics.
Here’s The SKoop for Tuesday, November 26:
Sask. Party to lay out priorities in Speech from the Throne,
NDP responds to Throne Speech, and
Todd Goudy elected as the new Speaker.
Today’s Top Stories
A New Beginning: Saskatchewan Party government outlines priorities in Speech from the Throne
The Legislative Assembly during the Throne Speech. (Pipeline News)
The newly-elected Saskatchewan government kicked off the thirtieth legislature with a Speech from the Throne on Monday, touting ‘A New Beginning.’
Premier Scott Moe said the Throne Speech responds to the two messages that voters delivered in the recent provincial election. "Many Saskatchewan people voted to re-elect our government to keep our economy strong and our future bright, while many others voted for change," Moe said. "My government will deliver both."
The speech began with a focus on health care. The government is promising to complete 450,000 surgeries in the next four years, ensure everyone has access to a primary care physician by 2028, and open additional Urgent Care Centres in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Moose Jaw.
In education, the government is looking to expand its specialized support classroom pilot, which focuses on reading skills for children in grades K through 3.
The Saskatchewan Party campaigned on affordability and the government wants to deliver on those promises. That includes increasing the largest income tax reduction since 2008 and expanding various tax credits, including for seniors and recent graduates. Moe said Bill 1 of the new legislative session will be The Saskatchewan Affordability Act - legislation to enact the government's campaign commitments to make life more affordable.
In addition to the policy announcements, the Throne Speech also includes a commitment to work to improve the tone and decorum of the Legislative Assembly.
You can read the full Speech from the Throne here.
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NDP responds to Speech from the Throne
NDP leader Carla Beck. (Global News)
The Saskatchewan NDP returned to the legislature with the largest opposition bench in decades to listen to the Throne Speech Monday.
NDP leader Carla Beck dismissed the throne speech as a rehash of past promises that failed to take concrete action on problems in schools and hospitals. In a statement, Beck said, “Scott Moe suggests he’s heard the message from the people of Saskatchewan that they want change, but he offers nothing of the sort.”
The NDP leader continued, “He’s pressing ahead with cuts to funding for hospitals and schools and doing nothing immediately to help make life more affordable for families. This is a government that’s out of ideas and out of touch with the people in this province who are hurting.”
The NDP has said it will push the government this week to pause the 15-cent-a-litre gasoline tax to help families make ends meet.
The legislature will continue sitting over the next two weeks, with debate beginning tomorrow, following the first Question Period of this session.
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Todd Goudy elected as the next Speaker
Premier Scott Moe and NDP leader Carla Beck ‘dragged’ MLA Todd Goudy to the Speaker’s chair. (CJME News)
The legislative assembly has chosen Melfort MLA Todd Goudy as the next Speaker.
The Speaker is elected by their MLA colleagues in a secret ballot. This year, just one candidate was on the ballot. Lumsden-Morse MLA Blaine McLeod was named Deputy Speaker, and Cypress Hills MLA Doug Steele was named caucus chair. Canora-Pelly MLA Sean Wilson was named Government Whip.
Todd Goudy was first elected in a 2018 by-election and was re-elected in 2020 and 2024. The party says, “Todd’s best move in life was marrying his wife Tannis, and enjoys life together with her and their 6 children. He spent most of his married life as a minister in the Baptist church, and during that time had a furniture manufacturing company, as well as serving 10 years as Melfort’s trustee on the Northeast School Division and chaplain for the local RCMP.”
The Speaker is responsible for controlling the flow of House business and acts as a “referee” during debates. The importance of this role in ensuring the proper working of the House is emphasized at the beginning of each sitting of the House in the Speaker's parade. The Speaker, accompanied by the Clerks and the Pages, is escorted into the Chamber by the Sergeant-at-Arms carrying the mace. The Speaker's traditional robes and court attire help to emphasize his or her neutrality, while the mace is a symbol of the Speaker's authority in the House.
It is the Speaker's duty to ensure that the rules of the House for conducting its business are followed and that all members of the House have an opportunity to take part in debates. Balancing the right of the majority to conduct business with the right of the minority to be heard is one of the Speaker's most difficult tasks. Because it is essential that the Speaker be seen to be above party politics, he/she does not take part in debate or votes unless there is a tie. All remarks made in the House must be addressed to the Speaker, and no Members may stand when the Speaker is standing.
The Speaker has a high profile in the legislature. Past Speakers in the Saskatchewan Party tenure include Randy Weekes, Mark Docherty, Corey Tochor, Dan D'autremont, and Don Toth.
On Monday, Moe said that he will not allow Speaker intimidation.
