While many campaign promises and ongoing goals for the Government of Saskatchewan were reiterated during Tuesday’s speech from the throne, here’s what stood out. The provincial government’s 15-page mandate, outlining its priorities for the legislative session to come, included many things – among them a series of planned policies in the vein of community safety. The Mandatory Testing and Disclosure Act The province plans to introduce legislation aimed at the safety of first responders among others individuals. The Mandatory Testing and Disclosure Act will allow a first responder or victim of crime to apply to the court if they believe they have come into contact with someone suffering from Hepatitis B or C, or HIV. The legislation will allow those individuals to apply to the court to have mandatory testing on the person suspect of suffering from those diseases. “It was a request by a number of first responders,” Premier Scott Moe told reporters Tuesday morning. “How do we support you in expediting any treatment that you might need, any testing that you might need so that we can deal with it quickly.” Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck said the issue of mandatory testing was not something she has come across but said her MLAs will be reaching out to the affected parties to get a sense of the situation. “If it’s legislation that makes sense, that’s going to protect those on the front line, of course, we would we would want to do that,” she said. “But you know, there are a lot of details to come up.” The Protection of Economic Infrastructure Act The province says The Protection of Economic Infrastructure Act will bar disruptions or other “illegal activities” to the province’s critical infrastructure and transport routes. The Opioid Damages Act According to the province, the legislation is aimed at pursuing the health care costs from manufacturers, wholesales and consultants for opioid-related wrongdoing. The Prevention of Deceptive AI Act Recognizing the potential for deception and fraud connected with artificial intelligence, the legislation will prohibit the misuse of AI-generated voices and images connected to “elections, consumer transactions and the protection of privacy.” Human trafficking amendments The province says amendments to The Protection from Human Trafficking Act will require to both the hospitality industry and ridesharing platforms to report to the police when there is a “reasonable suspicion” to believe that another person is being trafficked. Impaired driving amendments The province plans to proceed with further amendments to The Traffic Safety Act which will enhance administrative penalties for impaired driving infractions. Additionally, the changes will allow the province to suspend, cancel or refuse to issue a driver’s licence to those convicted of certain drug-related offences. More to come…
