Throne Speech Debate (28 October 2025)

From Hansard (28 October 2025)

 

Throne Speech Debate

Hon. Terry Jenson: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It is an absolute pleasure to be able to enter into this year’s Throne Speech debate. And you know, it’s so good to be on my feet. And I’d like to thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the job that you’re doing with the Assembly and keeping things moving and keeping things rather in line. It is much appreciated, and I think my comments are echoed by all of my colleagues.

Typically we start our Throne Speech replies by sending out some thank yous to people that are generally by this time at night in bed. And they, you know . . . This is probably the last thing on their mind. But I know back home I really do need to, you know, really thank my family. Especially over the past year, since becoming Minister of Social Services, they have not seen me very much. And that is no exaggeration, Mr. Speaker.

My wife, Angela, we’re going to be celebrating a milestone anniversary here in a couple of weeks. And if everything works out, she might be able to come down here and join us that day, and that would be something very special.

My two kids. I’ve got a son, Asher, who is going to be turning 19 in a couple of weeks’ time. And you know, we’re looking forward to seeing what he’s going to be doing here in the very near future. And then, you know, my 11-year-old daughter, Kolbie, who is very much like her dad. She’s very right-brained, very creative, left-handed in everything she does except golf, like her dad.

You know, my two kids mean the world to me, and if there is ever a reason why we do this job, it’s because of our kids. We want to make sure that we are leaving this province in a better place for our children and, for some of the other members here that are maybe a little older and wiser, for their grandchildren as well, Mr. Speaker.

I would be remiss without thanking my constituency assistant, Whitney Friesen. We often have a debate here who has the best constituency assistant. I’m not going to wade into that at this stage, but what I will do is recognize the fact that he has been serving the people of the constituency of Warman, and in previous iterations, Martensville-Warman or whatever the name happened to be for . . . it’ll be 33 years in December, Mr. Speaker. I believe he is the longest-serving constituency assistant in Saskatchewan, and for that we truly do appreciate the service.

And you know, we always say here we don’t serve alone, Mr. Speaker, and Whitney does not serve alone either back home. It’s quite often when I get home from Regina, we spend maybe a few extra minutes in the office past closing time talking about different things, different things that are maybe coming up or different issues. And quite often he’ll get a text from his wife, Rebecca, saying, “Are you coming home for supper?” Or actually it’s more like, “Are you coming home to make supper?”

And so I try not to keep Whitney at the office any later than he has to be, Mr. Speaker, but I really do appreciate all the work that he does not only for me, but also on behalf of all the constituents of the Warman constituency.

And again the constituents themselves, Mr. Speaker, they’re the reason why we do this job. We’re here in Regina to represent their concerns. We are their voice in this building, and we truly do appreciate all the input and all the ideas that they bring forward. And you know, that’s what motivates me and drives me to get up every morning to do this job, is to represent the people of the community that I live in and the surrounding area.

That’s pretty much the list of thank yous. I do have to also thank my office staff upstairs in the Ministry of Social Services. We have an absolute rock star group, Mr. Speaker, right from ministerial assistants Angela and Tyson and Ilias to my two admins, Jessica and Lilia. And Lilia just actually joined our office about three weeks ago, and she’s fit in absolutely fine, absolutely perfectly, Mr. Speaker.

And over the summer I got a new chief of staff. And while my previous chief of staff was a great guy and probably the biggest Blue Jays fan in this building, my new chief of staff, Dawn Kobayashi, started with me in July. And Dawn is an absolute pleasure to work with, somebody that keeps me organized. She keeps me on task, Mr. Speaker. I couldn’t ask for a better chief of staff, and really, really looking forward to the months and hopefully years ahead with this team.

Back home in Warman, we’ve got a new hockey team on the block, Mr. Speaker, and . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . That’s right, yeah. So the Warman Wolverines were born back in February when the franchise from Wilcox, the Notre Dame Hounds, was relocated to Warman. Mr. Speaker, the Wolverines are something new in the city of Warman.

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, I grew up watching it in North Battleford with the North Stars. Still remember some of the names from those teams — the Maytags, the Krawetz, who by the way was the nephew of Ken Krawetz that once sat in this Assembly. So growing up watching the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, Mr. Speaker, was absolutely fabulous, and I’m so proud that we have a franchise in Warman.

And I had some conversations with the member from WeyburnBengough. I’ve had some conversations with . . . Let’s see. Who else is in here that has a team? There’s Estevan, so the member from Estevan. Kindersley-Biggar, you know, we’ve had some conversations. Melville. Yes, Melville-Saltcoats. And have yet to have that conversation with you, Mr. Speaker, but your team is doing pretty good this year, and we might wait until the Wolverines kind of find their feet a little bit.

But you know what? The home opener in Warman, Mr. Speaker, was sold out. We had 1,345 fans in the KH Developments Arena, previously known as the Legends Centre. 1,345 for the first night, and I believe the crowd the second night was about 1,100. Although they weren’t successful in their home opener — they lost to the Humboldt Broncos 3-0 — but they were competitive. They were right in there.

Mr. Speaker, it’s the ownership group of the Warman Wolverines that made this all a reality, and I really have to tip my hat to the ownership group as well as the coaching staff and all the players. You know, this was not a team that was perennial favourites by any stretch of the imagination when they were Notre Dame, but there is a ton of tradition that comes with the Notre Dame Hounds and now the Warman Wolverines. And we’re going to make sure that we carry on that tradition of producing world-class hockey players like Rod Brind’Amour, Wendel Clark — players like that, Mr. Speaker.

It should be noted too that we got our first home win last weekend in a shootout against The Battlefords North Stars. Sorry to the member from The Battlefords, but you know, they kind of spanked us the night before, but we got them in the shootout the next night. So it was our first home-ice victory and it was something special. And I know everybody that was in the arena that night really enjoyed the game. 

So on to the Throne Speech itself, Mr. Speaker. When I look at this Throne Speech — and it’s my fifth since I was first elected in 2020 — you know, there are so many good things, and my colleague from Saskatoon Willowgrove summed it up when he said, you know, this is one of the best ones yet, in terms of what we are doing for the people of Saskatchewan.

When we talk about, you know, strong, safe, and secure, we can talk about having a strong economy. That strong economy allows us to make investments that create strong families and strong communities, Mr. Speaker. That’s what this is all about. This is what we’re elected to do.

Mr. Speaker, when we talk about safety, there’s lots to speak about on that, and same with security. Earlier this summer, Mr. Speaker, I spent a lot of time on the road. I travelled the province quite extensively, and you know, visiting communities such as Yorkton, Nipawin, Tisdale, The Battlefords, Denare Beach, Creighton, Buffalo Narrows, Saskatoon, Regina obviously. Oh, and the member from Canora-Pelly is saying, don’t forget Preeceville, and so Preeceville has been acknowledged. It’s on the record, Mr. Speaker.

An Hon. Member: — Moose Jaw.

Hon. Terry Jenson: — Moose Jaw. Anyone else? Okay. Anyway, so travelling the province and speaking to stakeholders, whether it be community-based organizations or housing authorities — you know, even spoke to a few town councils, Mr. Speaker — listening to what the concerns are, what the opportunities are, and I think the word “opportunity” is incredibly important. Because if we are here in Regina and we’re not out there in the communities, it’s hard to identify the opportunities that exist, and identifying those opportunities is incredibly important, Mr. Speaker.

So I put on a lot of miles, you know, saw a lot of the countryside. Went through Melfort at least three times, maybe four, and actually stopped in Melfort a couple of times. So you know, this is something I love to do. Again when I talk about waking up in the morning and what are we wanting to do, this is what motivates me, Mr. Speaker. I’m a people person. I believe in dialogue, I believe in collaboration, and I believe in trying to do what is best for the people of this province. And that’s what I try to set out every day, whether I’m on the road to Preeceville or Melfort, or if I’m in my constituency office meeting with my neighbours and friends from the Warman constituency.

Speaking of that, just this past weekend, Warman Fire Rescue held their annual Dine and Dance. I believe it was their ninth annual Dine and Dance. It’s a fundraiser that they use to purchase extra equipment that maybe isn’t in their budget for the year, but they really can’t wait to buy it; they need it right away. So they raise some money on the side and they put on a Dine and Dance. And it’s a great party, Mr. Speaker. It’s one of the events that I really look forward to every year, and it sells out every year.

So you know, I’ve kind of got an agreement with Fire Chief Russ Austin that we get two tickets kind of set aside, almost like a pre-sale. So everything is good because typically I sometimes forget to get tickets to events and I’m calling last minute. But I don’t have to worry; Chief Austin looks after me and looks after my wife as well and we attend this big, very large event.

It should be noted that Warman Fire Rescue is the busiest volunteer fire department in the province, Mr. Speaker. They run a number of calls very similar to some of our smaller cities that have paid fire departments, Mr. Speaker. These are volunteers. Two paid staff members, a chief and deputy chief. The rest are all volunteers. So the work they do in protecting our citizens, you know, it’s very important. It’s very important work that they do, and I’m so proud that the city of Warman, the community of Warman, the residents, are there every opportunity to support them. And the Dine and Dance is just another way of doing it.

So at the Dine and Dance, the Warman Fire Rescue were able to recognize a number of firefighters that took part in what amounted to be an absolute devastating summer up north with the wildfires. For instance our chief, Russ Austin, spent a lot of time in Pelican Narrows before moving down to Denare Beach. We also had several other members located in other areas of the North, Mr. Speaker.

And while I was thinking of that, I decided I’d contact an old friend, Jason Pauls, who is the Osler Fire Department chief. I knew that Jason — or otherwise known as J.P. — I knew J.P. had been up North because I had seen some of his posts on Facebook. And the Osler Fire Department is not a large volunteer fire department, Mr. Speaker. However, besides J.P. going up to Pinehouse and Beauval to fight these fires, Deputy Chief Harv Braun and Lieutenant Josh Minovitch were in La Loche, and Firefighter Alex Walter spent some time in Beauval and Weyakwin.

What makes this absolutely remarkable, Mr. Speaker, is these are volunteer fire departments that . . . Not only did they send some firefighters up north, Mr. Speaker, but the ones that were left behind had to put in extra work to cover for those members that were up north. So we can’t neglect mentioning those firefighters that stayed behind, Mr. Speaker, and for that we really do appreciate them.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was able to join the Minister of Trade and Export Development, as well as several of my colleagues, at the Global Institute for Food Security, do a tour of the facilities. Not just of the institute itself, but also the Global Agri-Food Advancement Partnership, or GAAP, as well as the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre, or otherwise known as the Food Centre.

These three organizations work hand in hand along not just the agri-food chain, I would say, but the agri-food ingredient chain, where they take an idea from somebody in the research community in agri-food and they move that all the way through the continuum to the point where it can be manufactured as an ingredient that can be either used domestically or it can be exported, Mr. Speaker. It’s these types of investments that we’re making in this province that are often maybe unseen, but they provide a lot of food security opportunities not just here at home, Mr. Speaker, but around the world.

And that tour was absolutely amazing. And if anyone ever gets the chance to see the Global Institute for Food Security and some of the technology that they operate with, and then meet some of the individuals that are there developing their programs at GAAP . . . There’s a gentleman from Argentina who basically relocated to Saskatoon, and he’s going to be there for a period of a couple of years doing research and developing food ingredients. It’s absolutely, absolutely amazing, Mr. Speaker.

So when we talk about the word “safe” in the Throne Speech, we always refer back to food security, making sure that the residents of Saskatchewan — and by extension residents around the world — have food security and they’re safe.

So, Mr. Speaker, there’s also a lot of things happening within my ministry. And I know my time is running short here. But you know, I’d just like to touch on some of the things that we’re doing within the ministry when it comes to different things happening, whether it be group home openings, you know, whether it be stakeholder meetings that we’ve had. I’ve joined a number of colleagues for some stakeholder meetings in their communities, and there’s just lots of good things happening.

And this is going to sound maybe a little weird, but earlier tonight I was at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon for the Elmwood Fall Feast, Mr. Speaker. This is an absolutely wonderful event and it’s held every year at this time. And this year, the fundraising that they’re doing is for Fancy Nancy. Fancy Nancy is a new van that will be used to be able transport clients of Elmwood to work, to recreational activities, to social gatherings. So this event is actually probably just wrapping up about now, but they were raising money tonight, and the atmosphere was absolutely incredible.

One of the things with Elmwood . . . We just finished the past year opening up four new group homes. I cut the ribbon on the fourth one here not very long ago; there’s two more that the shovels are in the ground. Mr. Speaker, you have never seen smiles like you have when their board president, when Bo stood up at the podium tonight and he thanked the government, the Government of Saskatchewan, for being there with Elmwood to make sure that individuals that have intellectual and physical disabilities have an opportunity to be part of the community. And the smiles from the clients as I was sitting there — talk about a reason to come to work every day, Mr. Speaker. There was 300 reasons in that room tonight at Prairieland Park, and it was absolutely amazing. And my congratulations to Elmwood on another fabulous fundraiser.

Speaking of group homes, Mr. Speaker, over the past year, we’ve got 10 group homes for people with intellectual disabilities that are in development in locations around the province: Meadow Lake, Prince Albert, North Battleford, Saskatoon, Regina, Melfort, Tisdale. We also have initial planning under way for an additional group home for people with intellectual disabilities with higher medical needs in Saskatoon, Mr. Speaker. These are important investments in our disabilities community.

So between 2024 and 2025, nine new group homes were opened, including one in Creighton that I had the opportunity to visit earlier this summer, Mr. Speaker. They have a brand new home in Creighton, and the residents were extremely happy to provide a tour, and it is an absolutely beautiful, beautiful group home, Mr. Speaker.

We also have a new one in Kerrobert. We’ve opened five in Regina and two in Saskatoon, Mr. Speaker. Since 2007 the investments by this government in the disability sector have funded 187 new group homes and 738 new day program spaces that didn’t exist before. These are commitments to the people of Saskatchewan that this government has made, and these are investments that we believe in and we will continue to make, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, there’s a piece of legislation that’s going to be introduced later this fall, the compassionate care Act. And I know I’ve had a couple of colleagues speak about it earlier tonight. I know the member from Yorkton has spoken about it. The member from Kelvington-Wadena has spoken about it. I’m not going to get too much into it, but I can tell you this, Mr. Speaker: when we talk about addictions, when we talk about addictions and the relationship of those addictions to the people we love, my family is not excluded in that discussion.

I have somebody extremely close to me who for the last 19 years has been on the streets, has been addicted to methamphetamine. There is nothing we could do. There is absolutely nothing we could do, Mr. Speaker. My sister has cried tears for 19 years because there’s nothing she could do for her son.

Granted they don’t live in Saskatchewan. They’re next door in Alberta. But I can tell you this, Mr. Speaker: when it was first announced that we were going to be bringing this legislation forward, she phoned me because she follows what happens in Saskatchewan. She follows what her brother is up to. She said, “whatever you do, just make sure you do this.” Because for every one of her and every one of my nephews that are out there, there’s going to be hundreds other in Saskatchewan.

So I’ll have more to say about that at a later time. But I just wanted this Assembly to know when it comes to addictions, it used to be in another community, it might’ve been in another province, but you know what? It’s in our own homes now, Mr. Speaker, and it’s something that we absolutely have to address.

Mr. Speaker, there’s so many good things and my time is running out, but I do want to correct the record on a couple of things. When it comes to affordable housing, we’ve heard it over here across the aisle. Five years ago we had approximately 14,000 units that were occupied within Saskatchewan Housing Corporation. As of June of this year, that number has increased to 15,082, Mr. Speaker. That’s 1,082 more households over five years ago.

We are making progress in this area, Mr. Speaker. We’re going to continue to make the investments to make sure that more individuals have a place to call home. That is the commitment that my ministry is making, this government is making. And we will continue that.

My time is basically up, so with that, I am going to be supporting the motion made by the member from Weyburn-Bengough, and I will not be supporting the amendment made by the opposition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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