4th wave hangs over province as Sask. legislative sitting resumes

The fall sitting of the Saskatchewan legislative assembly begins Wednesday afternoon with the speech from the throne.

Lt.-Gov. Russell Mirasty will deliver the speech inside the chamber at 2 p.m. CST.

Premier Scott Moe provided a preview of the speech and the government's focus for the upcoming 25-day sitting in a speech to the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce on Monday afternoon.

Moe said the province "had been hit hard by the fourth wave."

He said the province's case counts remain high and attributed that to unvaccinated people.

Moe also said the government has "resisted" introducing further measures because more than 75 per cent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated.

"It doesn't make sense to restrict everyone's activities and ultimately their personal freedoms."

During the speech, Moe transitioned to discussing Saskatchewan's path to economic recovery, speaking about jobs, exports and manufacturing sales figures.

"The strongest indicator of confidence in our province is the unprecedented surge in investment we have seen arrive here in the last number of months."

Moe highlighted recently announced multi-million dollar projects in the potash, agriculture, and oil and gas sectors. He said these projects would create "thousands of jobs" in both construction and operational phases.

He said these projects were announced in one of the province's "most difficult years."

Moe said the government will focus on "building a stronger, safer, healthier, better educated, and much more independent Saskatchewan."

He said the throne speech would include "enhanced law enforcement measures to address crime particularly in the areas of drug, repeat offender and property crime." 

He said the government knows addictions can fuel crime and that it will increase treatment and detox spaces. He also said the government will launch three new community wellness buses mental health and addictions supports.