Legislative Report
(21 October 2009)

Throne Speech

With thousands of Saskatchewan people waiting for surgery, it is likely someone close to you, or someone you know, is on a waiting list. They may have been waiting for surgery for years. Their lives may be at stake. By reducing the amount of time people are waiting for surgery, lives can be saved.

In this year’s Speech from the Throne, our government announced a bold new goal: to reduce surgical wait times, within four years, to no longer than three months.

While surgical wait times have been decreasing, they have not been doing so at a significant rate. The status quo, which seemed to be acceptable under the NDP, is not working. Our government is today committing to reducing the wait time to 3 months for ALL surgeries. That is consistent with one of the key findings of the recently-completed Patient First Review: timely access to services.

The Throne Speech also expanded upon other health care priorities, such as continuing to focus on hiring more physicians and nurses, retaining our province’s medical graduates, promoting reduced tobacco use and improving access to long-term care for seniors. The overall theme of the 2009 Throne Speech is Moving Forward. It both builds on our record and looks to the future. Our government is committed to:

• Letting you keep more of your money, through historic reductions in income and property tax;
• Safe highways;
• Better schools for your kids;
• New hospitals;
• Making it easier to go to college or tech school;
• Providing low-income people with affordable housing and other tools to help them make ends meet;
• A proposed ban on texting while driving;
• Provincial parks with that are modern and well-maintained;
• Help for cattle and hog producers hurt by lower prices;
• The first public consultation with Saskatchewan people on energy needs; and
• Making sure First Nations and Métis people also benefit from the growing Saskatchewan economy.

Saskatchewan has come a long way in the last two years. We have experienced record population and economic growth. Our government will continue to put Saskatchewan families and communities first. Together we will move forward.

Past Legislative Reports