The break is almost over for provincial politicians, and the road ahead looks to be bumpy at best.
The Legislature will resume sitting on Monday, Match 4th at 1:30pm. This is the last sitting ahead of an expected election call. Under legislation, the government has to hold an election on, or before October 28th.
Of course, there is nothing to stop the premier from visiting the Lieutenant Governor sooner, say in the spring, and asking him to dissolve the house for an election. So, an election literally could be called at any time.
Under the cloud of an election call, this session of the legislature should be an interesting one.
The provincial government has not made a deal with teachers, and with a budget due to be released on March 20th, there is an incentive for the government to settle this dispute with teachers sooner, rather than later.
The government is going to want to tout good financial news in its budget, so it has that to sell to voters when the election is called.
This will also be the swan song for a number of Sask Party MLA’s who have announced they will not be putting their name on a ballot in the next provincial election.
That list includes some heavyweights inside the Sask Party Caucus like Finance Minister Donna Harpauer, and others like Don McMorris, Gordon Wyant and Dustin Duncan. Sask Party MLA Gary Grewal announced he also will not be running in the next election.
