Saskatchewan will introduce legislation this sitting to deal with trespassing.
After a consultation this past summer, the government said during today’s speech from the throne, it would “better address the appropriate balance between the rights of rural land owners and members of the public.”
Premier Scott Moe said the consultation results would be released soon, followed by the legislation.
The issue is whether landowners should have to post their private land to keep people off of it or whether hunters and others should be required to ask permission to be on that land.
It goes hand-in-hand with rural crime, which the province addressed last year by adding the Protection and Response Team to improve response time.
The government intends to amend the Police Act to allow rural municipalities and communities of less than 500 people to join regional police services.
The throne speech, the first for Moe and new Lieutenant-Governor Thomas Molloy, noted the need for efficient and timely grain transportation by keeping oil off rail and in pipelines.
It also reiterated the province’s opposition to the federal carbon tax while it implements its own Prairie Resilience climate change strategy.
Among other initiatives, the government will introduce changes to commercial driver training and an intersection safety strategy to reduce collision potential at highway intersections. Moe said this work was underway even before the devastating Humboldt Broncos bus crash last April.
Phase 2 of a high speed internet program will see improvements to 4G LTE cellular service in 100 communities. The first 50 should be done by spring.
Other plans include a balanced budget in 2019-29, completing the 284-bed Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford for those with significant mental health needs, extra parental and maternity leave, an apology to Sixties Scoop survivors and free hunting and fishing licenses to Canadian military veterans.
The sitting continues until Dec. 6.
Contact karen.briere@producer.com
