REGINA — This week in provincial politics saw a shift in focus away from one long-standing provincial issue to other emerging ones.
The long-standing issue that was resolved this week was the canola tariffs. Premier Scott Moe met the media in Saskatoon on Tuesday just hours after coming back from China, where he has joined Prime Minister Mark Carney in previous days to strike a deal on tariffs.
According to the province, a preliminary agreement was reached between the two countries to remove all tariffs from canola meal and peas: tariffs on canola seed were also reduced down to 15 per cent. The changes should take effect by March 1.
“The agreement itself, I believe, is three to five years. The canola meal and pulses are zero-tariff at least by the end of the year, which begins on March 1. But there are no assurances in this world,” Moe told reporters in Saskatoon.
He said Saskatchewan’s strategy must shift towards constant international engagement, rather than reliance on a single agreement or market. Moe also said collaboration among the agricultural industry’s leaders and stakeholders, exporters and multiple levels of government will be critical in the coming months ahead.
Canola tariffs from China had been a heated issue for several months, with the government under considerable pressure from the official Opposition to get a deal done. It also follows the previous trip by a provincial delegation led by Moe to China last year to lobby for the tariffs to be removed.
Now with the canola issue out of the way, the Opposition focus shifted to other issues, as they resumed calls for the Legislature to be recalled early to deal with a host of affordability issue.
Monday saw the NDP stage news conferences in Regina and Saskatoon on the affordability issue: one in Saskatoon saw April ChiefCalf resume her calls to pass her rent control bill, while the other in Regina saw Sally Housser call for action after the release of data showing almost half of households in the province had difficulty making ends meet.
Later in the week on Thursday the NDP continued their push on the affordability issue by launching a petition against looming SaskPower rate hikes. SaskPower critic Aleana Young announced the launch of the website StoptheRateHike.ca where Saskatchewan residents could sign their names.
On Tuesday, Finance critic Trent Wotherspoon was calling Premier Moe the “$40 billion dollar man” after accusing him of driving up the provincial debt by that amount during his time as premier.
But the provincial news story that gained the most traction as the week unfolded were mounting concerns over hospital safety in the province, following some recent high profile incidents over the last number of months.
At a news conference on Thursday, NDP Labour critic Nathaniel Teed and representatives from SEIU-West held a news conference in which they displayed a host of dangerous weapons and other items that were seized by security at Royal University Hospital.
The provincial government confirmed a couple of measures this week to address the security issue. One was word that a recent pilot project for metal detectors at Royal University Hospital had been successful, and was now being expanded to hospitals throughout Regina and Saskatoon.
The other major news was the announcement that the province would commission an independent review of security at health care facilities in the province.
Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill and SHA CEO Andrew Will confirmed that review would happen at a news conference in Saskatoon Thursday. They also pledged accountability and transparency following the recent death of Trevor Dubois at Royal University Hospital following an altercation with security there earlier this month.
– With files from Jon Perez
