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The start of a two-week session of the Saskatchewan legislature began yesterday with a Throne Speech focused on affordability, healthcare and education.
Megan Patterson, Moose Jaw Wakamow MLA is excited for what this new session will bring to the residents of Moose Jaw.
“People voted for a strong economy and a bright future, they also voted for some change. I love the fact that he (Premier Scott Moe) just embraced that, this government is going to deliver both.” said Patterson.
“The focus on healthcare is really important. It's going to affect everyone in the province and Moose Jaw. His promise that everyone will have a family doctor by the end of 2028 is great, and then the urgent care center that has been committed is also a great step forward for people in Moose Jaw.”
Alongside the items mentioned by Patterson, the Government of Saskatchewan announced a reduction in wait times for 450,000 surgeries over the next four years as well as a continued effort to increase the number of doctors, nurses and other health professionals in the province.
“We're going to continue to recruit and retain and incentivize and train more healthcare professionals through our Healthcare Human Resource Plan, and that plan is one of the most aggressive in Canada. We've actually already hired a number of new healthcare workers in Moose Jaw. We're just going to continue along those same lines.” explained Patterson.
Plans to engage with nurses via the creation of a patient-focused nursing task force were also announced during the speech, alongside expansions to coverage for glucose monitoring for seniors and young adults.
Patterson explained that communication with residents and stakeholders will be among her top priorities as the session gets underway.
“My priorities are going to be primarily affordability. I've been trying to meet with as many of the stakeholders as I can. I met with a number of stakeholder groups before the fall sitting even started. Of course, Healthcare is going to be important for the City of Moose Jaw as well as education and the government is committed to expanding their specialized classroom program. So, I'm hoping that some classrooms in Moose Jaw will take advantage of that.”
As affordability is one of Patterson’s top priorities, she is excited to put the Saskatchewan Party’s plans in action.
“I think that affordability is important. People are feeling the crunch right now. The most exciting thing I think that the government announced was one of the largest income tax reductions since 2008.” explained Patterson
“That’s going to free up more money for everyone, and we're also going to be taking a lot of people off of the income tax roll. This tax cut is going to be permanent relief for a lot of families.”
In the push for affordability the Government of Saskatchewan will be increasing the Low-Income Tax Credit by 20 per cent while doubling the Active Families Benefit, increasing the Personal Care Home Benefit by $1,000 a month and instituting home renovation tax credits and more to their roster of affordability measures.
Patterson explained that she is excited to get to work serving the people in her riding, noting that the plans set in motion by the government should do well to address the issues faced by those living in Moose Jaw.
“I have such a diverse riding, and I just love that because it's so interesting. I have the historic downtown core. This is really important to the city tourism sector and the government is committed to keeping the small business tax rate at one per cent, which is going to be important for our downtown core and other businesses as well.”
“Being the home of the Moose Jaw Warriors, champions of the Western Hockey League and doubling the Rink Affordability Grant is meaningful to the city. We have a number of rinks, so I hope that our rinks will take advantage of that $5,000 grant per ice surface to make some improvements to the surface, improve energy efficiency of the rinks or whatever they need.”
She highlighted the new school being constructed on South Hill as a potential beneficiary of the New School Playground Equipment Fund, one of the numerous items discussed during the campaign.
“(Another thing that) is really important and exciting for Moose Jaw is the New School Playground Equipment Fund which will help fund 50 per cent of the cost of new playground projects. Given we are in the final stages of a new school in Moose Jaw, this is going to be really relevant to the city, and my riding in particular.”