(file photo/CJME News Staff)

By CKOM News Staff

Sask. gov’t focuses on distracted driving, vaping in throne speech

Oct 23, 2019 | 4:18 PM

Premier Scott Moe’s government is promising to pass legislation this session to regulate vaping and to increase the penalties for distracted driving.

Those were two of the key messages in the speech from the throne, which was delivered Wednesday in the Saskatchewan legislature.

The document, entitled “A New Decade of Growth,” was read by Lt.-Gov. Russ Mirasty. It was the first time Mirasty delivered the speech since becoming lieutenant-governor July 17.

“Our government will continue to plan for a growing province by keeping our economy strong, investing in important government services and ensuring everyone in Saskatchewan continues to enjoy the benefits of growth,” Moe said in a media release.

In the speech, Moe revealed his government plans to introduce about 30 pieces of legislation during the fall session.

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One of those will call for the regulation of vaping and vaping products, something that Health Minister Jim Reiter hinted at in August. The ministry started requiring health professionals in the province to report vaping-related illnesses in September.

Moe also said his government will introduce tougher penalties for distracted driving.

With Tyvan’s Sandra LaRose in the audience — LaRose’s daughter was killed in a car-train collision while on her cellphone — Moe vowed to increase the punishment for those who endanger others while driving distracted.

The government also plans to implement Clare’s Law, which was passed in the spring session. The law allows police to pass on information to people who may be risk of interpersonal violence.

Saskatchewan is the first province in the country to pass the law.

The basis of the speech was growth in the province and Moe has set targets for the future.

The government wants to see Saskatchewan’s population reach 1.4 million by 2030; there currently are around 1.17 million residents in the province.

Over the same time frame, the Sask. Party also wants 100,000 more jobs to be created in the province. As of June, there were nearly 593,000 people working in Saskatchewan.

Another area in which the government wants to see growth is in the agricultural sector. By 2030, Moe hopes to expand agricultural exports from the province to $10 billion.

With the government’s Supreme Court challenge of the federal carbon tax to continue, the province plans to assist the energy sector in Saskatchewan.

The Moe government is to create a fund of up to $10 million to help Estevan, Coronach and other communities in southeastern Saskatchewan. The funds are to help create new economic development opportunities for help workers who will be affected by the federal phase-out of coal-fired electricity by 2030.

The speech also said the province will introduce a plan to reduce surgical wait times, although it didn’t provide any details as to how that will happen.

The government also addressed areas such as public safety, transportation, parks and culture, social services and education in the speech.

While there was discussion about students’ needs, there wasn’t any mention of the province’s teachers.

The Saskatchewan Teachers Federation and the province are at loggerheads regarding a new collective bargaining agreement. Along with wage issues, class size and composition are at the heart of the dispute.

More to come.