MOOSE JAW – Saskatchewan’s fall legislative sitting will start two weeks early and won’t begin with a traditional Throne Speech.
Premier Brad Wall announced Monday outside of a caucus meeting in Moose Jaw that MLAs will return to the legislature on October 13.
Because it’s the last sitting before the provincial election in spring 2016, Wall says the fall will actually be a continuation of the 2014-15 session – meaning no Throne Speech to outline the government’s plans for the year and continued debate on legislation the government has already introduced.
Near the top of the Saskatchewan Party government’s fall agenda is expected to be pushing ahead a bill allowing patients to pay out-of-pocket for MRI scans.
For every scan paid for privately, clinics would be required to provide a scan at no charge to a patient on the public waiting list. The initiative is aimed at reducing wait times, with Health Minister Dustin Duncan saying in May between 4,000 and 5,000 people are in the queue.
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Also expected are amendments to a controversial Saskatchewan law preventing public sector employees from striking, which the Supreme Court of Canada ruled was unconstitutional. The government has one year from the January 30 ruling to re-write the law or draft a new one.
The Opposition NDP has been critical of the government on both issues, while spending most of the 2014-15 session highlighting flaws in the provincial health system.
The fall sitting will still be the normal 25 days in length, which likely means it will wrap up at the end of November.
Saskatchewan voters go to the polls on April 4, 2016.
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