The Saskatchewan Party and the Saskatchewan NDP have agreed on plans which would see the two sides resume the legislative assembly in June.
Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison and Opposition House Leader Cathy made a joint announcement on Tuesday.
The assembly will meet from June 15 to July 3, with sittings from Monday to Friday over 14 days. There will be no sitting on Canada Day.
“After weeks of pressure from the NDP Opposition, the public and the media, today we won an important victory for democracy,” Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili said.
“We look forward to returning to the Legislature to push for an economic recovery plan that puts people first. And we’ll continue to push for accountability and answers to the government’s handling of COVID-19 and its economic fall-out.
“Before COVID-19, far too many people in Saskatchewan were struggling to make ends meet — many more families are struggling now. That’s why we need a plan for our economic recovery.”
There will only be 10 government members and five opposition members allowed inside the assembly at once to ensure physical distancing.
The 2020-21 provincial budget will be tabled on June 15 with 60 hours of scrutiny in the following days.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he expects things will operate similar to year’s past.
“There will be the introduction of the budget, both the estimates, which will be largely based on the estimates that were made public on March 18,” Moe said.
“However, there will additions to that like the Self-Isolation Support program for example, adding in small business support and infrastructure spending too. There will also be the best revenue projection they can put together under the circumstances.
“What we are going to experience this year is a pandemic deficit. That deficit will largely be attributed to a lowering of the revenue.”
The final vote on the budget takes place on July 2.
While the budget will be the main priority over the 14 days, officials say other topics will still be discussed.
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