Warren Michelson's Report From the Legislature
MLA Moose Jaw North, Warren Michelson
REPORT FROM THE LEGISLATURE
Three months into the fiscal year and Saskatchewan’s economy is showing signs of strengthening and our budget deficit smaller than first projected. The first quarter update for this year’s provincial budget shows that Saskatchewan is on track for a balanced budget by 2019-20. There is still work to do and we will continue with our plan to control spending and invest in priority areas for Saskatchewan people.
Recently our government announced the next step in our made-in-Saskatchewan plan to address climate change, with emission reduction targets for industry. We developed these standards working with industry, recognizing that many are trade-exposed, and allowing them flexibility to reduce emissions without a blanket carbon tax.
Our plan will recognize progress Saskatchewan people and businesses have already made in addressing emissions, and allow us to continue reducing them without damaging jobs in our province.
With a balanced, effective, made-in-Saskatchewan approach in place, it’s time for the federal government abandon their one-size-fits-all carbon tax and support our plan.
Your Saskatchewan Party government continues to look at innovative ways to address crime in Saskatchewan. Recently we marked the one-year anniversary of our Protection and Response Team (PRT) which is designed to help respond to and reduce crime in rural Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan’s Protection and Response Team is a dedicated team of professionals including Highway Patrol and Conservation Officers who provide valuable support to the RCMP and municipal police services to help ensure Saskatchewan communities and families are safe.
The goal of the initiative is to improve police response to emergency calls for services including property crimes that are in progress; enhancing uniform visibility and presence in rural Saskatchewan; increasing the enforcement of drug trafficking on Saskatchewan roadways; and enhancing the safety of roads by reducing the number of serious collisions and fatalities.
PRT members have increased the presence of law enforcement across our province with members assisting the RCMP on several occasions by providing the initial response to in-progress, criminal code calls for service. Since its operational launch, Conservation Officers and Highway Patrol Officers have taken more than 400 PRT-related actions with approximately 60 of those being PRT 911 calls.
Examples of the work PRT members are doing to keep residents safe include a Conservation Officer who located a theft suspect that had fled from a rural property, and another Conservation Officer who responded to a call for help from RCMP in a successful high-risk takedown.
PRT vehicles are equipped with Automatic License Plate Readers. These automatically scan licence plates – up to one plate per second – and alert police if a nearby vehicle is unregistered, or associated with a driver who has been suspended for impaired driving or other reasons. They can be used to look out for a vehicle that has been reported stolen, or is connected to a crime or an Amber alert.
The safety and security of Saskatchewan people is a top priority of our government and we look forward to the continued positive impact this initiative will have as we move forward.