While the political focus across the country is on the federal election and the parties鈥� push for votes, provincial politics can鈥檛 be overlooked.
The fall sitting of the Saskatchewan Legislature kicked off on Oct. 13. Conspicuous by its absence was a throne speech. The governing Saskatchewan Party has decided to forego the tradition, since Saskatchewan voters will be going to the polls in the spring.
We鈥檙e not sure why that prevents the government from offering a basic, bare-bones speech, with a few pre-election promises.聽
It鈥檚 not likely to be a fall sitting chock full of with big issues. The most contentious could be the government鈥檚 desire to have private MRI clinics in Saskatchewan. Any time the word 鈥減rivate鈥� is associated with health care in this province, some people become skittish.
And while other provinces, such as Alberta, allow for private MRI clinics, proponents of a purely public health care system in Canada view private MRIs as the start of a dangerous slippery slope towards a two-tier health care system.聽
Essential services legislation will likely be the other focal point of this sitting. The provincial government has tried on multiple occasions to bring the legislation to Saskatchewan, and bring the province in line with the rest of the country.聽
But each attempt has been quashed. While some form of essential services document is needed, the government has to avoid making it too heavy-handed, or the courts will overturn it again.
The honeymoon appears to be over for the Sask. Party when it comes to their support from the people of Saskatchewan. While Premier Brad Wall remains an incredibly popular leader with the people of Saskatchewan, and he is arguably the top premier in the country, some cracks have started to emerge for the government.
They鈥檝e had the issues with the SaskPower smart meters and their handling of the lean initiative. The government is projecting a deficit budget, although the budget was never really balanced to begin with due to the loan the government took out for infrastructure projects.
They are also facing a potential boondoggle over the Regina south bypass, which has infuriated some due to its cost, and others due to its location.
These controversies likely won鈥檛 be enough to knock the Wall government from its spot as Saskatchewan鈥檚 governing party, but the last 18 months has not been kind to a government that was fairly bulletproof in the first seven years in power.
You can be sure the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) will be looking to score points during the fall sitting, as they will no doubt pressure the government on issues such as two-tiered health care and labour, to the delight of the NDP鈥檚 core supporters.聽
The fall sitting will be significant for one more reason: it will be the final time in the legislature, as an MLA, for Estevan constituency representative Doreen Eagles. While we鈥檝e been critical of Eagles at times over the years, we鈥檝e generally had a good working relationship with her.聽
She has devoted more than 16 years of her life to representing the people in the Estevan area, and has seen her support grow in each election.聽
It will be interesting to see if her successor brings many of the same traits to the job as Eagles.聽
