LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BERNADETTE McINTYRE FORMALLY OPENS THE SECOND SESSION OF THE THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE

Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Bernadette McIntyre formally opened the Second Session of the Thirtieth Legislature with the Speech from the Throne on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, in the Assembly Chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building. 

"This will be my first opportunity since being installed on January 31st to participate in an opening of a Legislative Session," McIntyre said. "Reading the Speech from the Throne is a significant responsibility and great privilege as His Majesty's provincial representative. I look forward to this special occasion, which celebrates our heritage and the customs inherent to our form of government - a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy."

The public was invited to observe the outdoor ceremony, which began at 1:20 p.m. in front of the Legislative Building at 2405 Legislative Drive. The Lieutenant Governor was greeted by the Premier Scott Moe who lead traditional opening day of session ceremonies. 

"It is an honour to stand alongside my colleagues and the Lieutenant Governor as we begin a new session," Moe said. "This session our government will continue working to ensure Saskatchewan's economy is strong, our communities are safe, and our future is secure."

The opening of the Legislative Assembly has taken place to mark each session since 1906, when representatives of the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary first gathered to hear Lieutenant Governor Amédée Forget acknowledge expressions of welcome into the Canadian Federation from Ottawa and the other provincial Legislatures.  

GOVERNMENT OUTLINES AGENDA FOR A STRONG, SAFE, SECURE SASKATCHEWAN

Premier Scott Moe said the government's agenda for the new session of the Legislature will ensure Saskatchewan's economy remains strong, Saskatchewan communities are safe and Saskatchewan's future is secure.

The fall legislative session began today with Lieutenant Governor Bernadette McIntyre reading the Speech from the Throne. 

"Saskatchewan has the strongest economy in Canada and one goal of the legislative session will be to ensure Saskatchewan's economy remains strong and growing," Moe said. "At the same time, we will be working to ensure Saskatchewan remains the most affordable place to live in Canada, that our families and communities are safe, that our students are getting their best start and that our health care system is giving everyone the care they need. Those objectives and our plans to meet those goals are outlined in today's Speech from the Throne."

The Throne Speech addressed the challenges facing the province due to the United States and Chinese tariffs and committed that the province will continue to work with the federal government in working to have all tariffs removed. At the same time, Saskatchewan will continue to expand its export markets in over 160 other countries around the world.

The Throne Speech outlined a number of pieces of legislation that will be introduced, including:

• The Saskatchewan Internal Trade Promotion Act, which will reduce interprovincial trade barriers and promote freer trade within Canada;
• The Response to Illicit Drugs (RID) Act, which will take action to protect families and communities from illegal drugs and crack down on those who profit from them;
• The Compassionate Intervention Act, which will require individuals whose addictions are posing a threat to themselves and others to get the care they need;
• The Cyberstalking and Coercive Control Act, which will protect victims of online stalking by amending the definition of interpersonal violence to include coercive or controlling behaviour, and cyberstalking;
• Amendments to The Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act, which will ensure child support orders can still be enforced when a parent moves out of province;
• Amendments to The Change of Name Act, which will prevent those convicted of serious crimes from changing their name;
• Amendments to The Saskatchewan Firearms Act, which will protect Saskatchewan gun owners from financial liability resulting from federal firearm prohibitions;
• The Building Schools Faster Act, which will require municipalities to acquire and service sufficient land for the construction of new schools;
• Amendments to The Animal Protection Act, which will strengthen the protection of animals by creating a new animal welfare inspector position and establishing a code of conduct for animal protection officers;
• The "From Many Peoples, Strength" Act, which will allow for the permanent recognition of special days, weeks and months to recognize the important contributions to Saskatchewan made by various cultural groups; and
• The Tailgating Act, which will allow for tailgating events at Mosaic Stadium prior to Roughrider games.

"Today's Throne Speech outlines an active legislative agenda to ensure Saskatchewan remains strong, safe and secure," Moe said.

YOUR LEGISLATIVE REPORT

This week, our government delivered the Speech from the Throne upon the opening of the second session of the 30th Legislature in the Province of Saskatchewan.  The Lieutenant Governor, Bernadette McIntyre, conveyed the actions the government will take to meet the challenges and build on the opportunities facing our province. We are committed to ensuring the determined, resilient, and innovative people of Saskatchewan are safe in their own communities, that our economy remains strong, and the future is secure for the next generation.

Highlighted in the speech is the strength of our economy, despite headwinds from a realignment of international trading norms. Our government’s approach to expanding export markets is working with Saskatchewan goods and services are sent to 160 countries. We have more than doubled the value of our exports since 2007. Our government will continue to market our province to the world, while having a solid and secure economic environment at home.

Saskatchewan continues to be the most affordable place in Canada to live. However, we understand that people are facing challenges as prices continue to rise. Our strong economy allows us to make investments in programs that make life more affordable. These include further income tax cuts which will take an additional 54,000 people off the tax roll, enhancements to the Personal Care Home Benefit, First-time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit, the Graduate Retention Program, Home Renovation Tax Credit, Active families Benefit, and the Disability and Caregiver Tax Credit. It is important to remember that these enhancements are not one-time events. They will help everyone year after year with affordability.

The Throne Speech also highlights the measures our government is implementing to make our communities safer. New police officer funding, amendments to the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, the Trespass to Property Act and the new Safe Public Spaces Act will provide police forces with more tools to address criminal activity. New announcements in the speech include the Response to Illicit Drugs Act and the Compassionate Intervention Act. The latter will require individuals with addiction problems, who are unable to seek treatment on their own, to enter a treatment program. This will be supported by continuing work on 500 new drug treatment beds.

Our government is putting students first by investing in 500 additional teachers, $131 million for classroom supports and building 26 new schools which are at various stages of completion. The Building Schools Faster Act will ensure there is enough municipal land available to minimize delays in getting new schools completed. Post secondary institutions will see a new multi-year agreement with the government that provides funding certainty and protects students from tuition increases.

We want to ensure our health system is meeting the demands of patients in Saskatchewan. The number of doctors and nurses has increased significantly since the implementation of the Health Human Resources Action Plan. The number of communities eligible for the Rural Recruitment Incentive has increased by 70. Our government has committed to performing 450,000 surgeriesin this four-year period, and we are on track to meet this goal. This has resulted in significantly reduced wait times. We are supporting our patients and health care workers with new facilities, such as urgent care centres. The first of these, located in Regina, has served 41,000 patients in its first year.

Many football fans have seen or experienced “tailgating” at other stadiums throughout Canada and the United States for many years. We will introduce the Tailgating Act, which will allow this activity to take place here in Saskatchewan. This regulatory change could bring tailgating fun prior to watching our Saskatchewan Roughriders play at Mosaic Stadium.

I look forward to continuing to represent the people of Saskatoon Willowgrove at the Legislature as we implement the direction provided in the Throne Speech. If you have questions about this or any other matter, please feel free to contact my constituency office at ken.cheveldayoff.mla@sasktel.net or call 306.651.7100.

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