What to Expect
Saskatchewan
Session ended in Saskatchewan last week and MLAs are returning to their constituencies to receive feedback on the budget and government policy/legislation from the session. Expect it to be a slow news week from the Saskatchewan government.
Last Thursday NDP Leader Ryan Meili announced that he will resigning from his Saskatoon seat on top of stepping down as leader. A byelection in Meili’s Saskatoon Meewasin riding will open a spot for Saskatoon lawyer Kaitlyn Harvey to run if she is successful in the leadership race. Ryan Meili defeated the Saskatchewan Party candidate by just 367 votes in 2020, and the Saskatchewan Party will be looking for another byelection win in Saskatoon Meewasin before the fall sitting.
Manitoba
In Manitoba, preparations to receive more than 400 Ukrainian refugees are well underway within the province. In addition to the province’s vibrant existing Ukrainian community, refugees will have access to housing, mental and physical health help, education, family assistance, employment, and language service support upon their arrival. This is estimated to be as early as this week.
Manitoba will continue to deal with the fallout of massive flooding that covered a large part of the province. It is expected that some evacuated residents will begin moving back to their homes to start cleaning up, and farmers across Manitoba will be looking for ways to get back into the field to seed their crop. The Ministry of Environment, Climate, and Parks has declared a state of emergency in Whiteshell Provincial Park due to this continued flooding.
The Week That Was
Saskatchewan
The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) and Westinghouse Electric Canada have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance very small modular reactors (vSMRs), also known as micro-reactors, in Saskatchewan. Westinghouse and SRC will jointly develop a project to locate an eVincitm micro-reactor in Saskatchewan for the development and testing of industrial, research, and energy use applications.
On May 18, the Government of Saskatchewan announced a one-time investment of $158,000 to the Saskatoon Industry Education Council to fund educational events that aim to create awareness about careers in the Information Technology (IT) and green energy sectors.
Manitoba
The Manitoba government is proposing new legislation that would further protect vulnerable children and youth who are at risk of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The Hospitality Sector Customer Registry Act would require hotels and temporary accommodations to keep a register of guests and make the registers available to investigators without a warrant on an emergency-demand basis.
Manitoba Environment, Climate and Parks continues to advise all provincial park and campground visitors to carefully check and monitor conditions before heading to provincial parks this spring as some campgrounds and trails are closed from overland flooding.
