The Saskatchewan Partys election promises of action on affordability and continued carbon tax exemptions have been fulfilled as the short sitting of the legislature carries on.

Both The Saskatchewan Affordability Act  and The SaskEnergy (Carbon Tax Fairness For Families) Amendment Act, 2024  passed in the house Thursday in unanimous votes.

The affordability act will implement 13 commitments the Sask. Party outlined during its campaign – promising “the largest personal income tax reduction in the province since 2008.”

The amendment act will continue to exempt residents from paying federal carbon levies for home heating. The act is estimated to save the average Saskatchewan family $480 next year.

Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier Jim Reiter said earlier in the week that he would be reaching out to his federal counterparts to help ensure the tax measures are quickly instituted come Jan. 1, 2025.

On Thursday, Premier Scott Moe said he was unaware if Reiter has received an answer to the request.

“We would ask them to fast track to change the formulary for employers so that Saskatchewan residents can start receiving, on a monthly basis, the financial advantages that are in [the act],” Moe explained.

Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck said her party supported the legislation because Saskatchewan residents desperately need cost-of-living relief.

Beck and her MLAs have consistently said the government’s measures stop too short – and have called for the suspension of the provincial gas tax and the removal of the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) on ready-to-eat grocery items.

The Sask. Party has moved quickly in introducing its priority bills and amendments during the short sitting.

Other pieces of legislation introduced during this week included:

•  Amendments to The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) Act
•  Amendments to The Workers Compensation Act, 2013
•  And amendments to The Saskatchewan Employment Act

NDP calls for investigation fail

The Saskatchewan NDP’s repeated attempts to begin an investigation into high food prices in northern Saskatchewan and to compel former Sask. Party MLA Gary Grewal to appear before a legislative committee were again unsuccessful.

The opposition attempted to bring both issues forward during proceedings Thursday, utilizing emergency motions. However, both motions, divided among party lines, failed.

On Wednesday, the NDP attempted to bring the matters up at two separate committees. The opposition alleges that the government blocked their attempts to introduce the matters.

Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail shared his frustrations on Wednesday with the government’s alleged refusal to hear the issues out.

“We let them know that we were bringing a motion forward to committee,” he explained. “Through that process, in the committees this morning, they blocked us bringing that forward.”

The government maintained that the NDP was not blocked in making any motion during the committee sittings earlier in the week.

“I understand that the NDP are leveling accusations. If you watch the transcript of the meeting, nobody was blocked. There was nothing on the agenda, and quite frankly, the member from the NDP this afternoon was called out for that,” Minister of Justice and Attorney General Tim McLeod told reporters following Question Period on Wednesday.

“If theyre going to level accusations, they need to be based in fact and if you review the transcript of the meeting, the committee meeting that hes alleging, nothing like that transpired.”

The issue of grocery prices in northern Saskatchewan came to the forefront after more than two dozen cases of scurvy  were discovered by a doctor in La Ronge, Sask.

“People are not able to afford groceries. Theyre getting diagnosed with scurvy. This is not a hypothetical. This is whats actually happening and its really frustrating to hear a minister that does not take this seriously, that is trying to silence northern voices and my constituents’ voice here today at the legislature,” McPhail added, referring to McLeod’s comments.

“As a father myself of two growing girls, I know the challenges it takes to put as much healthy food into that grocery carts, and I know that its going to take a government that takes those food security issues seriously to make sure that all families in northern Saskatchewan have that same access to affordable groceries.

The opposition has long called for more attention to the case of Gary Grewal, the former Sask. Party backbencher whose hotel received over $700,000 from the ministry of social services by providing rooms to those on social assistance.

The province’s Conflict of Interest Commissioner found that Grewal violated rules for elected officials and tasked the assembly with determining a proper penalty.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Moe pointed to the fact that Grewal is no longer an MLA and therefore is now outside the purview of the assembly.

“I would say that in this case, this individual didnt run for our party … hes a private citizen now, and I dont know the last time, under any government, that a private citizen has been summoned to appear before, whether it be a committee or the legislature itself,” he said.

Speaking to reporters following Moe, Beck disagreed with the premier’s sentiments and suggested it sets a bad example.

“The message we heard from the government today was that an MLA can break the law, and as long as they dont run again, there is no penalty,” she said.

What message does that send to the people of this province? … just because there, there is no precedent, perhaps, doesnt mean that something shouldnt be done in this case, and I think thats what well continue to press for.

A Saskatchewan school bus driver, who was transporting 50 children shortly before his arrest, is facing impaired driving related charges.

On Nov. 19, Dillon RCMP responded to a report of an impaired driver on the Buffalo River Dene Nation.

An investigation determined that security officers on the first nation and school employees observed signs that the bus driver was intoxicated.

According to RCMP, the officers and employees attempted to stop the man from driving the bus but were unsuccessful.

Officers immediately began working to find the bus to ensure the safety of the 50 students inside.

Police managed to locate the bus a short time later – no children were on the bus at that point. RCMP learned that they had been dropped off along the bus’s route.

Officers at the scene observed signs that the driver was intoxicated and arrested him.

Continued investigation and consultation with Crown prosecutors led to a 45-year-old man from Buffalo River Dene Nation to be charged with one count of operating a conveyance while impaired and one count of operating a conveyance with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding 80 mg per 100 ml of blood (.08 BAC).

The man’s drivers license was also suspended pending the outcome in the courts.

The accused is set to appear in provincial court in Dillon on Dec. 18.

Buffalo River Dene Nation is located 530 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

The federal government says it will be providing Saskatchewan with more than $265 million to help build more renewable power projects as well as modernize and upgrade the province’s electrical grid.

In a news release, the government said that its Canada’s Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program will give more than $12 million for multiple projects aimed at building more renewable power sources that includes:

•  Over $2.7 million for the 1.4-megawatt Cosette Solar Project in Estevan, owned in part by White Bear First Nation
•  Nearly $2.7 million for the one-megawatt NM Solar Project in Lomond No. 37, owned in part by White Bear First Nation
•  $2 million for the 100-megawatt Prairie Coast Solar Project in Lajord
•  Over $1.8 million for the one-megawatt Kiyam Solar Project near Gladmar, partly owned by Mistawasis Nêhiyawak First Nation
•  Over $1.8 million for the one-megawatt Iskotew Solar Project near Alsask, partly owned by Mistawasis Nêhiyawak First Nation.
•  Over $1.3 million for the 500-kilowatt AC La Plonge Solar Project with English River First Nation

According to the federal government, once the listed projects are completed, they would provide power to almost 20,000 Saskatchewan homes.

“We are Powering Canada Forward by unlocking opportunities in every province and territory, leveraging their unique strengths to rapidly grow and responsibly decarbonize their grids,” Minister of Energy and Natural resources Jonathan Wilkinson said in the release.

“Thanks to a suite of historic investments, industrial pricing returns, permitting reform, demand-side measures, and other federal actions, we are already seeing great progress to support Saskatchewan’s growing demand for electricity.”

SaskPower will receive more than $256.7 million Ottawa says is earmarked for a range of job-creating, clean power projects that will grow and modernize the province’s energy grid.

Of that amount, Ottawa says $70 million will be for upgrades to more than 6,000 kilometres of critical rural power lines.

That will include replacing aging installations and system upgrades, according to the federal government.

The $256.7 million investment will also include:

•  Over $55 million for a 60 megawatt/60-megawatt hours battery storage system and associated technologies to help manage peak demand and integrate renewables.
•  Nearly $80 million for a new substation and two 240-kilowatt transmission lines connecting the province to the Southwest Power Pool in the United States, facilitating 500 megawatts of additional transmission service.
•  Over $9 million to support consumer and household energy efficiency programs, including SaskPower’s new Energy Efficiency Discount Program that helps pay for ENERGY STAR appliances, home insulation, and other cost-saving measures for families.
•  Over $20 million to help retrofit Northern First Nations’ homes and help new buildings achieve higher cost-saving energy efficiency performance standards.
•  Over $5 million to develop power generation in remote and northern communities, while replacing aging distribution infrastructure.

Nearly $14 million to add 400 megawatts of wind power and 300 megawatts of solar generation in south-central Saskatchewan by 2027. So far, a portion of this funding has been allocated to support the implementation of a 200-megawatt wind facility project partnership between Innagreen Investments and Awasis Nehiyawewini Energy Development Limited and a 100-megawatt solar project partnership between Iyuhána Solar LP and Ocean Man First Nation.

And additional investments to train more Indigenous power line technicians alongside the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies.

“As someone with deep roots in Saskatchewan, I know that these investments in Saskatchewan’s electricity grid will create jobs and ensure the province remains a destination of choice for investors looking to expand their operations,” Wilkinson said in the release.

“From Indigenous solar projects to small modular reactor permitting and transmission upgrades the federal government will be a partner and staunch supporter to ensure that we build up and power a strong and reliable 21st century economy, without making compromises on affordability.”

The latest funding follows over $75 million of previously announced investments in Indigenous-led clean power projects in the province, according to the federal government.

The past investments included Ochapowace Nation, Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Star Blanket Cree Nation, Cowessess First Nation, the nine First Nations of the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, and the First Nations Power Authority of Saskatchewan.

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook a large area of Northern California on Thursday, knocking items of grocery store shelves, sending children scrambling under desks and prompting a brief tsunami warning for 5.3 million people along the U.S. West Coast.

The quake struck at 10:44 a.m. west of Ferndale, a small city in coastal Humboldt County, about 130 miles (209 kilometres) from the Oregon border, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

It was felt as far south as San Francisco, some 270 miles (435 kilometres) away, where residents felt a rolling motion for several seconds. It was followed by smaller aftershocks.

There were no immediate reports of major damage or injury.

The tsunami warning was in effect for roughly an hour. It was issued shortly after the temblor struck and covered nearly 500 miles (805 kilometres) of coastline, from the edge of Californias Monterey Bay north into Oregon.

It was a strong quake, our building shook, were fine but I have a mess to clean up right now, said Julie Kreitzer, owner of Golden Gait Mercantile, a store packed with food, wares and souvenirs that is a main attraction in Ferndale.

We lost a lot of stuff. Its probably worse than two years ago. I have to go, I have to try and salvage something for the holidays because its going to be a tough year, Kreitzer said before hanging up.

The region -- known for its redwood forests, scenic mountains and the three-county Emerald Triangles legendary marijuana crop -- was struck by a 6.4 magnitude quake in 2022 that left thousands of people without power and water. The northwest corner of California is the most seismically active part of the state since its where three tectonic plates meet, seismologist Lucy Jones said on the social media platform BlueSky.

Shortly after the quake, phones in Northern California buzzed with the tsunami warning from the National Weather Service that said: A series of powerful waves and strong currents may impact coasts near you. You are in danger. Get away from coastal waters. Move to high ground or inland now. Keep away from the coast until local officials say it is safe to return.

Numerous cities urged people to evacuate to higher ground as a precaution, including Eureka.

In Santa Cruz, authorities cleared the main beach, taping off entrances with police tape. Aerial footage showed cars bumper-to-bumper heading to higher ground Thursday morning on California highways 1 and 92 in the Half Moon Bay area south of San Francisco.

I thought my axles had fallen apart, said Valerie Starkey, a Del Norte County supervisor representing Crescent City, a town of fewer than 6,000 near the Oregon border. Thats what I was feeling ... My axles are broken now. I did not realize it was an earthquake.

Cindy Vosburg, the executive director for the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce, said she heard alarms sound just before shaking began and the citys cultural center downtown started to creak.

The earthquake seemed to go on for quite a few seconds. It was a rolling earthquake, Vosburg said. Just as it would start to subside, the building would roll again.

Vosburg, a former resident of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley, said it was the strongest earthquake she felt since the 1989 Loma Prieta quake struck Northern California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he has signed off on a state of emergency declaration to quickly move state resources to impacted areas along the coast. State officials were concerned about damages in the northern part of the state, Newsom said.

White House Spokesperson Jeremy Edwards said President Joe Biden was briefed on the earthquake and that FEMA officials are in touch with their state and local counterparts in California and Oregon.

Crews in Eureka, the biggest city in the region, were assessing if there was any major damage from the quake, Eureka Mayor Kim Bergel said. Bergel, who works as a resource aid at a middle school, said lights were swaying and everyone got under desks.

The kids were so great and terrified. It seemed to go back and forth for quite a long time. She said. Some children asked, Can I call my mom.

The students were later sent home.

In nearby Arcata, students and faculty were urged to shelter in place at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. The campus in was not in the tsunami hazard zone and after inspections, all utilities and building systems are normal and operational, the university said in a statement.

Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said residents experienced some cracks in their homes foundations, as well as broken glass and windows, but nothing severe. There also has been no major infrastructure problems, building collapses or roadway issues, and no major injuries or deaths have been reported, he said.

Honsal said he was in his office in the 75-year-old courthouse in downtown Eureka when he felt the quake.

Were used to it. It is known as earthquake country up here, he said. It wasnt a sharp jolt. It was a slow roller, but significant.

Michael Luna, owner of a Grocery Outlet in Eureka, said that besides a few items falling off shelves, the store on Commercial Street was unscathed by the earthquake.

We didnt have any issues but a couple of deodorants fall off.... I think the way the earthquake rumbled this time, it was a good thing for our store because the last earthquake was a huge mess, he said.

They evacuated customers and closed their doors temporarily until officials lifted the tsunami warning, he said, rushing off the phone to attend to a growing line of customers at check-out.

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, known as BART, stopped traffic in all directions through the underwater tunnel between San Francisco and Oakland, and the San Francisco Zoos visitors were evacuated.

Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator for the Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska, said the computer models indicated that this was the type of earthquake that was unlikely to cause a tsunami and gauges that monitor waves then confirmed it, so forecasters cancelled the warning.

This quake was a strike-slip type of temblor that shifts more horizontally and is less prone to cause tsunamis, unlike the more vertical types, said National Weather Service tsunami program manager Corina Allen in Washington state.

The California Geological Survey says the states shores have been struck by more than 150 tsunamis since 1800, and while most were minor, some have been destructive and deadly.

On March 28, 1964, a tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake in Alaska smashed into Crescent City hours later. Much of the business district was leveled and a dozen people were killed. More recently, a tsunami from a 2011 earthquake in Japan caused about US$100 million in damages along the California coast, much of it in Crescent City.

A Saskatoon based dog rescue operator has been ordered to pay over $27,000 in damages to five women after a judge ruled she defamed them in several Facebook posts.

According to King’s Bench Judge Sean Sinclair, the women were volunteers in 2022 and 2023 with Hanna’s Haven, an animal rescue operated in Saskatoon.

By April 2023, Sinclair says the relationship between the five women and rescue operator Laura MacKay had soured, and they stopped volunteering.

MacKay turned to Facebook. In a post to Hanna’s Haven’s 10,000 followers, MacKay accused the volunteers — by name — of trying to steal her dog rescue and hijack her website and online accounts.

“Unfortunately, we gave some ladies our trust as volunteers to help with fosters and adoptions of our rescue dogs. We trusted them to represent us and ensure our dogs were placed in good homes. This has not happened,” MacKay posted on her personal account and on the Hanna’s Haven page on April 20, 2023, according to the court record.

“These ladies were told they were no longer to be involved with our rescue as they tried to take over our rescue from under us and have now stolen 15 of our dogs.”

Two days later, MacKay followed up with another post, hinting the matter had been turned over to police and that she had a legal team involved. She wrote she had received a letter from the former volunteers that was “now being investigated as blackmail.”

In their lawsuit, the women describe the fear and humiliation they experienced in the wake of the Facebook posts — bewildered messages from friends and contacts in the animal rescue community, wondering what was going on.

They maintained none of what MacKay was saying was true, so they turned to a lawyer.

In May 2023, their lawyer wrote to Hanna’s Haven Animal Rescue Inc. and Laura MacKay asking for a public apology and a retraction. There’s no evidence they received a response, Sinclair says.

So, on Dec. 15, they served MacKay with a defamation lawsuit. As MacKay filed no defence, the women won by default.

In November 2024, having effectively won the case, the women petitioned Sinclair to determine damages. According to Sinclair, they tried many times to serve MacKay with the application for damages but were only able to reach her husband Brian.

For Sinclair, knowing MacKay would likely have received the documents through Brian was enough to proceed.

Based on the two Facebook posts, Sinclair says it’s pretty clear MacKay defamed the five former volunteers, “in that the publication would tend to lower the plaintiffs’ reputation in the eyes of a reasonable person.”

Sinclair says the posts were clearly defamatory because MacKay names the women, so they’re clearly identifiable in her post, she accused them of acting criminally, alleges they were “let go” from their volunteer positions, alleges they tried to take over her business through manipulation, that they stole her account passwords, and insinuated there was imminent police involvement.

While the posts were later deleted, there’s no evidence that MacKay ever apologized, and she did not turn up to court to defend herself.

The women were seeking much more money in damages than what they received, but Sinclair didn’t think they met the threshold to qualify for anything other than what’s referred to as “general damages.”

One former volunteer, Kandace Moen, was awarded $7,500, while the other four — Marnie Wandler, Anita Lepard, Anastasia Graham and Brenna Dolan — were each awarded $5,000 for general damages, plus pre-judgment interest, Sinclair ruled.

An audit stemming from concerns over government practices of securing hotel rooms for those on social assistance has been released.

The investigation came after the Saskatchewan NDP alleged that the Sunrise Motel in Regina, which was owned by a Sask. Party MLA, of increasing rates when the Ministry of Social Services began picking up the tab.

Motel receipts provided by the NDP in 2023 showed that a client had paid $132 a night, plus a $200 damage deposit, when she initially checked in.

However, when the Ministry of Social Services decided to foot the bill, the receipts show the government paid $168 a night and then $200 a night a few days later.

This initial complaint led to further debate in the Legislative Assembly, with the NDP calling on the government to report how much it spends on hotels for those on social assistance.

The continued debate and demand for transparency prompted the investigation  from the provincial auditor.

According to Volume II of the 2024 Provincial Auditor’s Report released on Tuesday, prior to March 2024, the ministry did not consider best value when procuring hotel rooms for social services clients who require hotel stays.

“It may have been not spending public money wisely,” Provincial Auditor Tara Clemett said at a news conference on Tuesday, noting that the ministry spent over $3.5 million on hotels in 2023-24.

Clemett said the audit also found instances where ministry staff may not have selected the hotel with the lowest nightly rate and did not document why not.

“[The ministry] needs to demonstrate whether it considered best value when procuring hotel rooms for its Child and Family Program clients by documenting reasons for hotel room selections in its case management system,” she said.

The audit provided a figure outlining approximate spending on hotel rooms for clients across the province, noting that hotel expenditures have continually increased from 2021 to 2024.

Two pilot projects were initiated in March of 2024, which required the ministry to follow certain requirements.

One of the pilot projects requires staff to obtain three quotes when procuring hotel rooms and choose the hotel appropriate for client needs with the lowest rates.

The auditor assessed the ministry’s three quote pilot between March 2024 and June 2024.

It found that support staff communicated the price quote list with other relevant staff, the price quote list was used appropriately, and staff within the Child and Family Programs Branch obtained necessary approvals to procure hotel rooms.

The rates the ministry obtained ranged from $125 to $170 per night.

However, since implementing the three-quote process, the audit found that the ministry does not have a sufficient method to track the use of hotels.

“As it maintains detailed client-hotel data within multiple systems, it takes effort to determine how much the Ministry spends at one hotel over another,” the audit report read.

The second project involves contracting one hotel provider in Regina and one in Saskatoon to provide five hotel rooms every night at a single fixed rate for one year.

The audit found that the ministry appropriately communicated the request for proposal, gave hotels sufficient time to prepare responses, evaluated all hotels that submitted bids using an independent evaluation committee, assessed hotels using proper evaluation criteria, and awarded contracts to the Travelodge Suites in east Regina and the Country Inn and Suites in Saskatoon.

By assessing changes in processes up to July 31, 2024, the auditor found that documentation and collection of reliable data was lacking for hotel room selection.

“We found social services needs to centrally collect reliable data related to these two pilots so it can conduct a robust evaluation and determine whether these pilots resulted in efficiency improvements,” Clemett said.

The auditor went on to say the ministry also needs to publicly disclose payments made to vendors like hotels on behalf of its clients to increase transparency.

“Making this information readily available will allow the public to better hold the government and public sector officials accountable for the use of public sector funds,” she said.

Residents in Regina and Moose Jaw may notice some changes in their water as construction continues at the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant.

A shutdown lasting a maximum of 16 hours is taking place Wednesday, Dec. 4.

The shutdown is necessary to allow a general contractor to complete work on the plant – which includes tying in the plant’s raw water pipeline crossover and the connection for the plant’s biological activated contactor backwash system.

In a post to Facebook on Dec. 3, the plant noted that during the shutdown, it will be unable to supply both Regina and Moose Jaw with any new water.

The City of Regina will be pulling its water for the duration of the shutdown from its back-up wells.

“Residents may notice a change to the taste and colour of their tap water over the next few days, but it will remain safe to drink and meets all regulatory requirements,” the city noted in its own message on Dec. 3.

The City of Moose Jaw said in its message to residents that it does not anticipate any service disruption for residents during the shutdown.

So far in the construction, the plant has been shut down numerous times in order for the necessary construction to take place.

“Many were short duration and had no impact to the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw,” the post read.

“A few of them were longer term. To mitigate some of the risk, the longer shutdowns were planned for low flow seasons.”

The plant has been under construction since the summer of 2022. Work is expected to wrap up early in 2026.

More shutdowns of the plant are scheduled before construction at the water treatment plant wraps up.

Saskatchewan’s auditor says Regina had nearly 18 per cent of all social housing vacancies in the province at one point in 2024.

According to Auditor Tara Clemett’s report released on Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation had 534 vacant social housing units across the province, but Regina in particular accounted for 17.8 per cent of them in May of 2024.

Clemett says that indicates improved plans are needed for social housing in Regina to address high rates.

“Over the past several years, Regina not only had the most vacancies, but also the highest vacancy rate in corporation-owned units,” Clemett said in her report.

According to Clemett, in 2020, Regina’s vacancy rates among corporation-owned units was 18.1 per cent. That followed increases to 23.2 per cent and 24.9 per cent the next two years before dropping to 21.8 per cent and 16.2 per cent in 2023 and 2024.

“Through its Social Housing Program, the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation aims to provide safe, adequate rental housing and subsidize rents based on financial need. The Corporation owned about 3,000 social housing units in Regina as of June 2024, and the Regina Housing Authority managed these units,” the report outlined.

In Tuesday’s report, Clemett made eight recommendations in total.

“The Saskatchewan Housing Corporation does not regularly assess how long Social Housing Program applicants wait or why, or types of units requested (e.g., number of bedrooms needed). It also does not sufficiently track and analyze its vacant units (e.g., types and duration of units under repair) or trends in demand to determine where to focus repairs,” the report outlined.

“Doing so might help the corporation identify changes needed to its housing portfolio and inform plans to get chronically vacant units back into service.”

Other recommendations made my Clemett included:

•  Complete its forecast of long-term social housing needs in Regina to sufficiently identify gaps
•  Identify and respond to possibly over-housed social housing tenants in Regina (i.e., tenants living in units too large for their needs)
•  Enhance its operational reviews of the Regina Housing Authority
•  Report progress on improving building conditions of social housing units in Regina

Notice of Broadcast Disruption – July 3, 2024

On July 3, 2024, at 10:49 PM, Broadcast Center 01 experienced a power outage due to a passing thunderstorm. To safeguard our equipment from potential power surges, we decided to temporarily suspend our broadcasts. This interruption affected Z103.5, 979 The Cowboy, and 101 The Rockhound.

Additionally, our Live To Air Broadcast from Union Nightclub on Z103.5 encountered an issue, resulting in no audio being transmitted.

We are pleased to report that Broadcast Center 02, which transmits Classic 88.7 The Goat, was not affected by this outage.

All broadcasts have now resumed and are operating normally. If you experience any issues, please report them on our website.

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