It’s going to be a busy first day on the grounds of the provincial legislature.
The house will resume sitting in the afternoon, as the Sask Party will continue to lay the groundwork for the provincial election, which which must be called before late September.
A piece of that will be the provincial budget. Finance Minister Donna Harpauer will deliver the budget on March 20th. It will be Harpauer’s last budget as she, and several other Sask Party MLA’s have announced they will not be running in the upcoming election.
As the house doors swing open once again, the government would like to focus on its priorities, but the on going labour dispute with teachers will more than likely be top of mind. As part of their day long rotating strikes, teachers will be off the job in the Regina area Monday, and the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation is planning a rally at the provincial legislature.
The on-going carbon tax fight with the federal government heated up when Saskatchewan announced it would not remit the carbon tax to Ottawa. The federal government responded by announcing people in Saskatchewan would no longer be eligible for the Carbon Tax Rebate, delivered quarterly by the federal government.
Both the Sask Party and the NDP are united in their opposition to the carbon tax, but this is certain to come up as the two sides look to set the stage for the election campaign.
