The spring sitting of the Legislature wrapped up on May 18.

Moose Jaw North MLA Tim McLeod says the government passed several important bills.

"We obviously put forth a balanced budget, but it was one that included increases in multiple sectors, and it also paid off a billion dollars worth of debt, which isn't a very exciting thing to read on paper but when you understand that that means tens of millions of dollars of savings to Saskatchewan taxpayers, that billion dollars of debt to be paid off is a really big deal when you factor in the interest payments that we no longer have to make as a result of that."

He notes the introduction of $10 per day childcare was a big deal and something that will benefit the families of Moose Jaw.

The Saskatchewan First Act was also highlighted by McLeod.

"The Saskatchewan First Act is a piece of legislation that amends the constitution of Saskatchewan to confirm our autonomy and assert our province's exclusive legislative jurisdiction over the exploration, development and management of our non-renewable natural resources, forestry resources, and the generation of electrical production," he commented.

"I think it's important given what our federal government has tried to do with their policies, which are clearly encroaching upon Saskatchewan's jurisdiction and all of the provinces' jurisdiction. This is a piece of legislation that pushes back and says very clearly that the constitution of Canada outlines that the areas that the federal government is trying to make policies are actually in the provincial jurisdictions. It's important that we continue to draw that line so that we are the ones managing what matters to our citizens."

McLeod commented on Saskatchewan's plan for electricity generation to 2035 and beyond, which commits to achieving net-zero by 2050.

"It's a situation where the federal government is encroaching on provincial jurisdiction," he said. "Saskatchewan has just made it public that we are going to continue to do what is best for our citizens. We're not going to allow the federal government to make power generation completely unsustainable and unachievable in our province. We have some of the most sustainable practices in the world here in Saskatchewan and we're going to continue to improve and grow as a province and our plan conforms to that and doesn't make the cost of power simply unreachable, which is what it would be if we were to follow the federal guidelines."

Another recent highlight for the Moose Jaw North MLA was the May 16 groundbreaking for the new $69 million joint-use school on South Hill.

"That has been an exciting development for the entire city of Moose Jaw, but particularly for the folks on South Hill. There's four elementary schools that are going to be consolidated into that new joint-use facility and I think it's incredibly exciting for the community that we have a brand new state-of-the-art facility that's going to be built. The families that are currently here and that are looking to move here will see that state-of-the-art facility and know that their children will be well cared for and have a great facility to be educated in when they come to our community."

McLeod also touched on the new compensation model for family doctors in Saskatchewan.

"It's a new compensation model that offers a blended option for physicians, as an alternative to the traditional fee-for-service model. What we're hoping to achieve here is, as part of our broader four-point Health Human Resources Plan, where we're recruiting, training, incentivizing, and retaining our current healthcare workers in Saskatchewan. This is a model that we think continues to make Saskatchewan a very attractive jurisdiction for our physicians to stay and to be drawn to work so that we can continue to add to our health care workforce."

McLeod also announced that Minister of Mental Health, Addictions, Seniors, and Rural and Remote Health Everett Hindley will be coming to the Moose Jaw Events Centre on June 15th for a breakfast event that gets underway at 7:30 am.

Tickets will be available on the Moose Jaw and District Chamber of Commerce website.

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