The “House business” that needs to be cleaned up before the next provincial election hardly merits the fall sitting that begins next week.
By all measure, the handful of bills Premier Brad Wall’s government will bring forward in the fall sitting can be categorized as “House cleaning” … or worse yet, politicking.
That said, a couple of bills we will see this fall will be important to rural Saskatchewan voters in particular.
One such bill will be the much-anticipated changes to the Farmland Security Act.
You already heard lots about this issue – some of which is based on legitimate concerns and maybe some less legitimate concerns as well.
This spring, Saskatchewan’s Progressive Conservative (PC) leader Rick Swenson raised concerns about appointments to the Saskatchewan Farm Land Security Board. He suggested the board regulating foreign landownership should consist of representatives from the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association, the Saskatchewan Realtors’ Association and the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation.
It’s a solid enough recommendation that one hopes the Saskatchewan Party would follow.
More pertinent, however, is how the new law might address large institutional purchases of large swaths of farmland like we saw in 2013 with the sale of 115,000 acres owned by Assiniboia Farmland Partnership to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for $128 million.
Whether such sales should be allowed because it leaves farmers competing against their own tax dollars to buy land is an issue in need of clarity.
Notwithstanding whatever motivation he might have had for raising this issue that happens to involve political rivals in the Sask. Party and close associates either involved in the deal or now working for the government, Swenson has forced the government to address this important question.
Of similar importance to rural people in particular will be changes to the Municipal Act – changes emerging from the inquiry into conflict of interest on the Rural Municipality of Sherwood council.
Fortunately, not all rural, town or small-city councils have run into the mess we have saw in the rural municipality surrounding Regina that sure seemed to have grand ambitions when it came to its own development.
But these changes may be important to rural people because they may offer clarity to the rules and responsibilities of smaller governments that have found their world become increasingly complex in the growing Saskatchewan of the past decade.
There are a couple other things of less direct interest in rural voters, but of huge political interest when it comes to the provincial vote that lies ahead.
One such bill to be tabled by Premier Brad Wall’s government will allow private MRIs.
While one might expect most of these to be located in the cities, the issue may help define the difference between the NDP and the Sask. Party when the province goes to the polls next April 4.
In that vein, the most interesting development may be what Wall won’t do – proceed with changes to the publicly owned liquor stores in Saskatchewan.
At last week’s caucus retreat at Moose Jaw’s Mosaic Place, Wall vowed that he would not make any such move until he gets a new mandate from the voters in the spring.
However, the premier said his party will offer a clear, concise position on liquor store ownership in the spring.
We also know we will soon see is the results of the government’s public input study into the liquor ownership question that took place this spring. Again, this discussion is designed to underline the difference between the Sask. Party and the NDP.
It will be light housekeeping in the legislative assembly this fall … but it may tell us something about the expected messy election six months from now.
