Premier Scott Moe needs to steer his new Sask. Party administration away from the all-politics-all-the-time approach.
It probably won’t take us very long to figure out what this fall sitting of the legislature — and perhaps what this entire fifth term of a re-elected Saskatchewan Party government — will be like.
In fact, we may see the first telltale signs even before Lt.-Gov. Russ Russ Mirasty’s delivery of the throne speech on Monday afternoon.
The first sign may come with Monday morning’s selection of a new speaker to replace Randy Weekes — a race between government caucus MLAs Doug Steele (Cypress Hills), Todd Goudy (Melfort) and Blaine McLeod (Lumsden-Morse).
Recent minuscule NDP oppositions have meant the Sask. Party got to dictate whomever it wanted in the speaker’s chair, which generally meant selecting whoever caucus thought was mostly likely to rule in the government’s favour.
The new problem for the governing party: They have three people running for the job and face a 27-person Opposition accounting for 44 per cent of the 61 legislature seats.
With a three-person race and the Opposition accounting for more than a third of the vote, it’s tougher for the Sask. Party to do exactly as it pleases.
It’s also unwise for the government to continue to prioritize such game playing.
Presumably, new Government House Leader Tim McLeod has been given the job of setting a better, more professional tone in the House.
It’s also likely why he was appointed justice minister — to re-establish some gravitas in the attorney-general’s office missing since Gord Wyant and Don Morgan served in the role.
Premier Scott Moe simply needs to steer his new Sask. Party administration away from the all-politics-all-the-time approach we saw last term. He needs to show this government has a plan to deal with serious issues that fall within its jurisdiction.
Add in the right-wing vote trolling on issues like pronoun use in schools or change room policies — which a provincial government is simply in no position to oversee anyway — and what we got was an administration perceived to to be unserious about matters far more critical to far more people, like health, education and the high cost of living.
This raises questions about whether the government has learned anything. One doesn’t expect the Sask. Party to completely stop bashing the federal government.
And while going after Young seems tit-for-tat pettiness, there will always be a bit of pettiness in politics. Besides, it actually is a good thing for the conflict of interest commissioner to review all potential issues — no matter how seemingly inconsequential they may be.
The better measure will be the overall tone we start hearing from Moe and company — a more serious tone suggesting a new focus on the big issues voters have strongly suggested need to be addressed. Moe is hinting that we will hear a different tone from this new government.
Come Monday, we will find out if that truly is the case.
Mandryk is the political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
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