The commute between Moose Jaw and Regina is a bit quicker than before, now that the Regina Bypass is complete and officially open to traffic.
The newly-completed project includes:
- 12 overpasses;
- 40 kilometres of new four-lane highway;
- 20 kilometres of resurfaced four-lane highway;
- 55 kilometres of new service roads; and
- Twinning of about five kilometres of Highway 6.
Throughout construction, the Bypass project created thousands of jobs for Saskatchewan companies and contractors. It also had a nearly unblemished safety record during four years of construction. Crews worked nearly five million hours with just one lost-time incident. This truly was a project where safety was paramount and its resounding success is a testament to how big things can get done in Saskatchewan.
Hundreds of patients waiting for surgery in Saskatchewan are going to get their procedure sooner thanks to $10 million in new funding to lower surgical wait times. Approximately 1,700 additional surgeries will be performed before the end of March 2020. To meet this target, the Saskatchewan Health Authority will increase surgical hours in hospitals and also increase contracted volumes with third-party facilities. While the majority of surgeries will occur in Regina and Saskatoon, where some of the longest wait times exist, they will be expanded to other centres, including Moose Jaw.
Efforts to lower surgical wait times was a noteworthy investment in our government’s Throne Speech which kicked off the fall sitting of the legislature. Other measures the government will be taking during the upcoming legislative session include:
- Creating a fund of up to $10 million to assist Estevan, Coronach and surrounding areas transition to new economic development opportunities for workers affected by the federally-mandated phase out of coal-fired electricity by 2030;
- Introducing legislation for the regulation of vaping and vaping products;
- Taking measures to improve the safety and well-being of First Nations children and reduce the number of children that need to come under the province’s care;
- Introducing tougher penalties for cell phone usage while driving;
- Continuing the constitutional challenge to the federal carbon tax in the Supreme Court;
- Continuing to explore the potential for small modular reactors to produce emissions-free electricity using Saskatchewan uranium;
- Implementing Clare’s Law, which allows police to disclose information that could help protect potential victims of interpersonal violence;
- Introducing a new Fisheries Act to provide greater protection against invasive aquatic species;
- Amending The Lobbyists Act to address recommendations made by the Registrar of Lobbyists in his recent annual reports;
- Strengthening the enforcement of maintenance orders for child support payments; and
- Amending The Saskatchewan Employment Act to increase parental leave by eight weeks to ensure that employees who are entitled to the new shared parental Employment Insurance benefit have job protection while using the new leave benefit and to extend employment leave to individuals who are running for election to a First Nations Band Council.
Over the past 12 years, Saskatchewan has enjoyed a remarkable period of strong and sustained growth we hadn’t seen in a long time. As we prepare to enter the 2020s, our goal is to keep growing so all Saskatchewan people continue to benefit.
This month we will release a new Growth Plan with specific targets and a roadmap of how we will achieve them. These targets include 1.4 million people living in Saskatchewan and 100,000 more people working in Saskatchewan by 2030.
Our government will continue to plan for a growing province by keeping our economy strong, investing in important government services and ensuring everyone in Saskatchewan continues to enjoy the benefits of growth.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
