Throne Speech Debate (1 November 2023)

From Hansard (1 November 2023)

 

Throne Speech Debate

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Well thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I don’t know how I possibly follow that, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I’m still mad at that member for his decision not to run again, but hopefully when he smartens up and changes his mind and files his papers, next time I will be sure not to follow him in the order of speeches, Mr. Speaker.

I do want to thank him for his time and service to the province of Saskatchewan, to the people of Kindersley. And I thank him for his friendship, Mr. Deputy Speaker. He’s going to be sorely missed, as are our other colleagues who I want to recognize, this being their final reply to the Throne Speech as well, Mr. Deputy Speaker — the members from Saskatoon Southeast, Canora-Pelly, Yorkton, Arm River, Batoche, Carrot River Valley, and my dear friend from Moose Jaw Wakamow.

Mr. Speaker, it’s always an honour to have the opportunity to rise in the House and address this Assembly. It continues to be my privilege to speak on behalf of all of the constituents of Moose Jaw North, and I’m incredibly proud to represent Moose Jaw North. And I’m extremely pleased that this year’s Throne Speech is filled with benefits for everyone from my home community. But before I get into the details on those amazing things in the Throne Speech, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I need to recognize some amazing people in my life.

I’m going to begin by acknowledging and thanking some of the newest amazing people in my life, and that’s my staff in the minister’s office: Stephanie and Savanna, Angela, Nolan, Cole, and my chief of staff, Elias. All of these individuals, Mr. Deputy Speaker, are absolutely invaluable to me and to the Ministry of Health. They do amazing work every day. They are incredibly patient about the work that they do and the work that I don’t, Mr. Speaker. I thank them every day.

The Minister of Health also pointed out that we share staff between our offices, so I want to thank Clint, Cheyenne, Christian, and the incredible Lisa Birnie. Mr. Speaker, we quite literally could not do our jobs if it were not for these amazing support teams.

I also want to thank the Premier, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity and the honour to serve as the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health. I know I have some incredibly big shoes to fill, but I appreciate the confidence to give me the opportunity to try.

I also want to thank and recognize my constituency assistant, Jacqui, who is such a critically important support for me, both as a co-worker but also as a friend. I’ve spoken a time or two in this Assembly about Jacqui and how she’s been learning her new role as I’m learning mine, although I dare to say, she’s a quicker study than me. And I’m so grateful to have Jacqui as the first point of contact for all the people that reach out to my office. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to work with her on a daily basis because, Mr. Deputy Speaker, she is the type of person that can find humour in even the most difficult situation, and her laugh simply lights up a room.

I also want to take this moment to express my gratitude and my thanks to my family: my parents, Mike and Shirley McLeod, who watch these proceedings far more than I ever would if I didn’t work here. I appreciate their love and their unwavering support in all that I do.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, I also need to thank my wife, Tenielle, and our three children, Lauchlan, Kingston, and Presley. Each of the kids stays busy with various activities. Lauchlan has volleyball, and football just ended, and he’ll soon be beginning basketball, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Kingston’s our hockey guy. He’s on the ice several times a year . . . pardon me, several times a week. It seems all year. And Presley was born to perform on stage.

I am so incredibly proud of all three of them, Mr. Deputy Speaker. They are my daily motivation and my reminder for the importance of the work that we do here every day. Tenielle manages our household, which includes crazy schedules, all while working a full-time job of her own and simultaneously completing her doctorate in education. She’s the chauffeur, the chef, the medic, and so many other things, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But most importantly she’s mom in our house, and in my opinion there is no more important job in the world and no one does it better than Tenielle.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, when each of us in this Assembly chose a life in public service, we knew we would be making sacrifices from time to time. I was speaking with one of my colleagues earlier this week about precisely that. At some point in time we’ve all been late for dinner, missed a family’s birthday, or possibly had to cut a vacation short in order to serve those who elected us. On both sides of the House we’ve all made sacrifices, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and for the most part we’ve accepted that as part of the job.

But what is often overlooked by the general public is that our families also make incredible sacrifices along with us, even though they were not the ones who sought to be elected. They did not choose this life. We chose it and we brought them along for the ride. In my house, that has certainly been the case, exponentially more so in the last few months. And so to Tenielle and Lauchlan, Kingston, and Presley, I want to express my deepest thanks, my appreciation, and my love for the many sacrifices that they make so that I can be here.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, as I think about my family and everything they mean to me, I’m encouraged by the Speech from the Throne because it’s filled with highlights that my family, my community, and our entire province can be proud of. We’re building more schools, more hospitals, more health care centres, more supportive housing. Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Throne Speech is incentivizing building new homes and creating secondary suites in existing homes, and it’s also protecting those same communities and the vulnerable populations within them.

This Throne Speech highlights how our government is implementing a new action plan for mental health and addictions, something that I am particularly excited about as the new minister in this area. This new action plan is ambitious and it’s the envy of many of our neighbouring provinces. As part of this plan, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we are more than doubling the number of addiction treatment spaces in the province with at least 500 new spaces over the next five years. We’re making it easier for individuals needing treatment to access those spaces by creating a central intake system that patients can access directly through self-referral.

And finally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we’re transitioning to a recovery-oriented system of care that will focus on providing people with the type of treatment that is best suited to their individual needs. A recovery-oriented system of care, or ROSC model, is a holistic approach that recognizes there is no one-size-fits-all answer to addictions treatment. It meets people wherever they are on their journey to recovery and it offers services on an entire continuum of care, whether they need detox or withdrawal management, in-patient treatment, out-patient treatment, or assistance with transitional living as they return to their communities in a healthy way. The ROSC model helps build a strong foundation of support for people battling addictions, something called recovery capital, so they are not simply returning to the same environment that led them to the addiction in the first place.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, this focus on recovery, coupled with more than double the spaces available to treat addictions and an easier system to access those services is truly exciting. This is a shining example of how our government is building and protecting our communities. And this is only one of the many examples in this Throne Speech, Mr. Deputy Speaker. There are countless more. As we make these investments, we can clearly see the positive impact they’re having on our province. We know there’s always more work to be done, and our government remains focused on that work. But this is a good Throne Speech. It is a great Throne Speech.

There are so many positive things to highlight. My colleagues have covered many of them over the past few days. I don’t want to repeat many more, yet I can’t help but notice that the opposition members seem to be struggling to see those. Listening to those members speak negatively about such a good-news story like the Throne Speech actually reminded me of a story of my own, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

It’s a story about a gentlemen who is sitting in his living room when he noticed his neighbour across the street pull into her driveway with a brand new car. It was a beautiful car. The neighbour was very proud of it. She had worked hard to earn that car and it was exactly what she needed. But the gentleman, perched in his recliner chair, immediately noticed how dirty the car looked. He called across the street to the neighbour, told her how foolish he thought she was for allowing that car to be so filthy. When his family and friends came to visit, he would insult the neighbour and ignore all the great things about her new car, focusing instead only on how dirty it was.

Finally after days of this negative commentary, one of the man’s family members pointed out to him the new car was actually clean. In fact it was spotless. It was the man’s windows that were filthy.

You see, Mr. Deputy Speaker, he couldn’t see the car for how it truly was because his perception was tainted by his own dirty windows. The man was so busy being negative about what his hard-working neighbour had brought home, he completely missed the reality of the situation, Mr. Deputy Speaker. You see the problem wasn’t the car at all. The problem was the lens through which the man was perceiving it.

It’s like that scene in the 1992 movie, My Cousin Vinny. Have we seen My Cousin Vinny? Where Joe Pesci, who plays Vinny, he’s a lawyer and he’s defending his cousin Billy for something Billy didn’t do. The scene I’m referring to is towards the end of the film when Vinny is cross-examining one of the eyewitnesses. Vinny shows the witness photos that were taken from the witness’s own kitchen, and he asks him to describe the various obstacles that are blocking the sightline and clouding his view.

As Vinny walks the witness through the photos, they slowly break down the man’s perspective. While the witness was initially convinced he could absolutely identify the defendants, upon further reflection he had to admit his view was actually impaired by a dirty window, a crud-covered screen, leafy trees, and seven bushes.

And that’s precisely what we’re getting from the opposition in this House, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Their concerns with this Throne Speech and with life in Saskatchewan aren’t a reflection of the reality of the situation but rather a demonstration of their tainted perception. The dirty lens through which they view our province is the real problem.

On this side of the House, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we are proud of this province and all the hard-working people in it. Day after day, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we have heard the members opposite criticize the government and all the work happening in this province. We have literally heard those members say that they’re not proud to live here.

Believe it or not, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I listen closely to those remarks and their rationale for saying those things, but the truth is I cannot reconcile the things that they say with the reality that I know to be otherwise. Just like the man perched in his recliner chair — or the member opposite perched in his — misperceiving the neighbour’s new car as a result of his own dirty windows, so too are those members viewing this Speech from the Throne through their own dirty lenses.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have to say one of my favourite parts from My Cousin Vinny is the unconventional way that Vinny indicates his cross-examination is complete. Rather than politely indicating he has no further questions for this witness, he announces, “I’m finished with this guy.” Young lawyers often dream of getting the opportunity of one of those dramatic mike-drop moments, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And while they may hope for them, any experienced litigator will tell you that those just don’t happen in a real courtroom.

In fact the closest I’ve ever come to witnessing one of those moments, where the logic and the truth of what someone is saying becomes so obvious that no further commentary is necessary, happened earlier this week when the member from Indian Head-Milestone gave his reply to the Throne Speech. His comments were so resoundingly clear and indisputable that as he concluded his remarks and looked across the floor at the opposition you, could almost hear the unspoken words echo through the Chamber: “I’m finished with those guys, Mr. Speaker.”

Finally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I want to acknowledge and remember our late colleague and friend, Derek Meyers, the former member from Regina Walsh Acres. Mr. Deputy Speaker, he was a man we deeply respected and admired, a man who is dearly missed on this side of the House, in this building, and outside this building.

It’s been noted before, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that Derek faced more than his fair share of pain and tragedy in his life, yet he stood in this Chamber even only weeks before his passing, and he spoke positively with words of gratitude and hope. And when he spoke, Mr. Deputy Speaker, he spoke with optimism. He was proud of this province. He was proud of his family. He was proud of his community. You could hear the positivity in his voice. His perspective wasn’t blocked or clouded.

Derek had plenty of reasons to be negative, but he refused to view the world through dirty windows and a crud-covered screen. His windows were clean, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and the world needs much more of that.

In closing, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would simply reiterate, there is quite literally something for everyone in this Throne Speech. It highlights how our government is building programs and investments that help our citizens and our economy. These are exciting times, and this is a Speech from the Throne that builds upon that excitement and the steps we are taking to protect all that we have already built.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, people from across the globe are flocking to Saskatchewan every day because they recognize that this is a land of wondrous opportunity. As a result, our population is growing at a rate our province hasn’t experienced in more than 100 years. And that population growth happens because people want to come to Saskatchewan, Mr. Deputy Speaker. They want to invest in Saskatchewan because they see what all the members on this side of the House see, and that is the promise and great potential of this amazing province, a province that our government is proud of, and a province that we will continue to build and protect.

With that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I support the Speech from the Throne, the motion put forward by the member from Saskatoon Southeast, seconded by the member from Lumsden-Morse, and I will not be supporting the amendment. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

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