Legislative session will be different in the world of COVID-19

Saskatchewan legislators are heading back to work next week under a set of COVID -19 restrictions that will radically recast how they do their jobs.

They won’t have much of an audience. The public will be shut out from the galleries, as the suspension of public access that started in March continues. Budget day on Monday will take place without the usual fanfare that fills up the chamber and the rotunda.

MLAS will only sit for 14 days in total, instead of the 29 that typically follow budget day. They’ll consider spending estimates for 60 hours in committee, 15 hours less than normal. The assembly will take a break for Canada Day, vote on the budget on July 2 and wrap up on July 3.

The day-to-day schedule will dispense with the usual petitions, introductions and members’ statements and head straight to question period.

In the chamber, the two parties have agreed to limit attendance in a bid to ensure physical distancing. The government will bring in just 10 of its 46 members, while the NDP will come with five of its 13 MLAS.

The assembly’s house services committee will meet Monday morning to formalize rule changes, which are expected to include measures to keep empty desks between members within the chamber.

Question period usually gives way to media scrums where journalists press around ministers in the rotunda. That will now take place under social distancing rules, with a limited number of party staffers and a single camera for all media outlets.