The spring session of the Saskatchewan Legislature officially wrapped up last Thursday, concluding nearly two months of debate and legislation following the release of the provincial budget on March 19.
Among the session’s key developments was the announcement that Saskatchewan would not be collecting carbon tax under the output-based performance standards model. The move came just days after the budget was released and was praised by members of the governing Saskatchewan Party, including freshman MLA Mike Weger, who represents Weyburn-Bengough.
“This past session started out with the budget, and the major highlight was obviously being the only province with a balanced budget in the country,” Weger told Discover Weyburn Tuesday morning. “And then on April 1st was the removal of carbon tax off everything in the province. I’ve got some really positive feedback from constituents and really business owners talking about the amount of money they were spending on carbon tax on their bills. Just a major relief, I think, for the residents of Saskatchewan.”
The spring sitting was Weger’s first full session in the legislature, after he was elected as the Saskatchewan Party MLA for Weyburn-Bengough in last October’s provincial election. He described his experience in Regina as both valuable and encouraging.
“It’s been a great experience being able to represent the constituency of Weyburn-Bengough up in Regina in the legislature,” he said. “It’s been a great learning experience. And I think our government is really moving in the right direction on a lot of things this past session.”
Looking ahead, Weger plans to spend the summer connecting with constituents ahead of the fall sitting.
“I’m just really looking forward to making my rounds throughout the constituency,” he said. "Hopefully, people reach out to our office and extend an invitation. We just want to obviously touch base with the constituents, find out what their thoughts are on what we’ve been doing as a government and what we could be doing better going into the fall session.”