Saskatchewan MLAs getting testy; battle over sitting days

REGINA – Similar to students being scolded by the teacher as they near Christmas vacation, it was a loud week of quarreling at legislature in Saskatchewan.

The house speaker went as far as saying he’ll “start naming names” if he has to, while calling for order when members of legislative assembly (MLAs) get too raucous during question period.

The assembly bells rang loudly during media interviews, which signaled a surprising move by the government: a vote to essentially force an opposition MLA to continue standing and talking about a bill once his speech was complete.

Opposition NDP house leader Warren McCall suggests it was retaliation for refusing to sign off on the minutes of a committee meeting the night before.

“As a consequence, they want to play some petty game about standing me up for an hour,” McCall said. “So be it.”

Prior to that? The two sides squabbled over when to sit in the assembly.

“It’s clear … the gentlemen decided not to agree in this particular case.”

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An odd calendar year put the final day of fall business on Monday, Dec. 8, meaning MLAs will have to travel back to Regina for just a single day.

But behind closed doors, the governing Saskatchewan Party had been lobbying to wrap up business on Friday, Dec. 5.

“We had offered the NDP several different choices to make things more efficient,” said Ken Cheveldayoff, government house leader. “They chose not to go ahead with it.”

The opposition argued that members already had plans in their home constituencies and the dates had been set out well in advance.

“The rules can be changed by a gentleman’s agreement,” said Jim Farney, a University of Regina political scientist. “It’s clear … the gentlemen decided not to agree in this particular case.”

So they’ll return for one last day in the political classroom, as the speaker asks his pupils to “try and restrain yourselves and listen.”

“That goes for both sides.”