Legislative Report
(5 June 2013)

Improving the Quality of Life

Our government’s commitment to improving the quality of life is about more than lower taxes, improving highways and reducing surgical waiting lists (more on that later in this report). While those are important, issues such as ensuring the safety of your children outside the home are equally so. To that end, province-wide anti-bullying consultations, led by Saskatoon MLA Jennifer Campeau in her role as Legislative Secretary to the Minister of Education (Anti-bullying Initiative), are now underway. Over the next couple of weeks, Jennifer will be meeting stakeholders and the public to gather input on addressing bullying in our schools and communities. For more information, including how to provide input on-line, go to http://www.education.gov.sk.ca/Anti-Bullying/Consultations. The ideas and experiences you share will be used to develop an anti-bullying strategy for the Government of Saskatchewan.

Reducing surgical wait times has also been a priority for our government. For far too long, Saskatchewan had some of the longest surgical waiting lists in Canada, but under our government that is changing. I am proud to report that in Year Three of the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative’s (SKSI) 90 percent of 82,047 surgeries were completed. There is still more work to be done to meet our April 2014 target of no one waiting more than three months, but as of March 30, 2013 the number of people waiting more than six months for surgery was down 66 per cent from 2007. And the number for people waiting more than 12 months was down 82 per cent. With a $70.5 million commitment to the SKSI in this year’s “Balanced Growth” budget, health regions will be able to complete about 7,000 additional surgeries. For more information, including links to current wait times and surgeon information, go to http://www.sasksurgery.ca/.

Enjoying Saskatchewan’s scenic beauty is one of the “quality of life” benefits that comes with calling the Land of Living Skies home. Our government is playing a role there by continuing to invest in one of the cornerstones of the tourism industry: provincial parks. This year, 287 campsites at Rowan’s Ravine north of Regina and the Battlefords Provincial Park will be electrified. In addition, a boat launch in Meadow Lake Provincial Park will be upgraded. Since 2008, our government has invested almost $44 million to improve Saskatchewan’s provincial parks with a further supplementary commitment of $10 million over four years.

 

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