The Saskatchewan NDP spent Question Period asking the Premier if he would support a referendum on separating from Canada, referring to the recent launch of an online petition by the Unified Grassroots organization and its founder, Nadine Ness.

The NDP didn’t get a reply, but not because Scott Moe weaved his way around the question. It was because Deputy Premier Jim Reiter stood to speak in his place.  

 “We represent all the citizens of Saskatchewan. Whether we agree with their opinion or not, we are not going to silence them like members opposite say they would. I can’t make it any more clear than this. The Premier indicated, I did already, that members on this side are not interested in separation, ” Reiter assured. 

Mowat corrected that the Premier hadn’t indicated anything as he hadn’t been the one to answer her question.  

The Unified Grassroots website states that “the purpose of the referendum on Saskatchewan’s Sovereignty is to empower the provincial government to negotiate new terms for Saskatchewan’s relationship whether as part of Canada or as an independent nation.” It currently has 1831 signatures.  

A southern-Saskatchewan school in need of some maintenance took the spotlight during Question Period, as well.

NDP Education critic Matt Love shared that the Ecole Boreal school in Ponteix is severely overcrowded and falling apart, with students being forced to use the hallway in the basement as a gymnasium.  

NDP MLA for Regina Northeast Jaqueline Roy added that the minister of Sask. Builds, David Marit, has refused to visit the school to see the conditions for himself.  

“If he visited himself, he would see with his very own eyes the crumbling library, the cracks in the walls, and the broken mats in the gym/hallway. Then, maybe he’d understand how bad things have gotten,” Roy suggested. 

Education Minister Everette Hindley says the budget includes record education funding, as it is a priority, and he would be happy to tour the school in the near future. 

A deal between the province and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress of Saskatchewan is in the works after funding cuts to the entity were reported last week.  

The announcement came during Question Period Monday, after NDP MLA Keith Jorgenson Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood asked Finance Minister Jim Reiter why he cut funding for Ukranian victims of war, forcing the UCC to lay off six employees. 

Jorgenson asked Reiter to commit to reversing the cuts, to which he replied it was a federal decision to decrease funding after the number of Ukranian visa-holders declined, however… 

“I asked my Deputy Minister to reach out to the Executive Director of the UCC. They’ve had some very good discussions, I understand. They’ve been providing additional services, services that are very important. So, they’ve been having contract negotiations, and I believe in just a matter of days we’re going to have an announcement on that,” Reiter admitted.

Jorgenson says he’s happy to hear that, but he believes the act of cutting funds was provincial, not federal.