Sask. throne speech welcomes Uber, takes stronger stance on revenge porn

Extending the welcome mat for taxi alternatives like Uber and making it easier for the victims of revenge porn to sue their tormentors are just some of the things the Saskatchewan government wants to do over the next year.

The new initiatives were touted in Wednesday's throne speech, read byLt.-Gov. Vaughn Schofield.

The speech kicks off the fall sitting of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly.

'Always a better option'

One of the newly announced initiatives takes aim at the province's drunk driving problem.

• Sask. impaired driving rate highest of provinces last year

To help bring down Saskatchewan's rate of drunk driving the highest among the provinces the government is planning legislation that would allow Saskatchewan Government Insurance to offer "affordable insurance" to drivers with Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing alternatives.

The government will also press municipalities to allow ride-sharing services within their jurisdictions.

• Ask province to let us in, Uber urges Regina, Saskatoon councillors

Premier Brad Wall, speaking to reporters before the speech, counted himself as an Uber fan.

"I've used Uber before and felt very safe doing so,as safe as any other ride-sharing opportunity that's there," he said.

The vote of confidence from the government comes only two months after Uberreached outto the cities of Saskatoon and Regina to pressure the province for such legislation.

"We will work with smaller communities to attract or establish a ride-sourcing network so people have another option for a safe ride home," the speech adds.

Gov't looks to partner with tech community

Walloffered some more details on that aspect of the plan.

"We're working with [an] incubator in Saskatoon and our tech community to see if we can't have them help us develop an application forUberandLyftin rural Saskatchewan, where we still have much to do on this," he said.

Nicole Sarauer, the NDP's interim leader, said she's "not totally sure if there's statistics to back" up the notion that services like Uber help cut down on drunk driving, but said herparty supports letting municipalities decide on allowingride-hailing services.

"We do, however, want to make sure that it's properly regulated from a provincial level, ensuring both the safety of riders and drivers," she said.

Pushing back at 'revenge porn'

In another eye-catching section of the speech, the government outlines the steps it will take to prevent the unauthorized online sharing of intimate images otherwise referred to as "revenge porn."

Cracking down on such cyberbullying by relying solely on the Criminal Code has been difficult, the throne speech said.

"The burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is so high."

The government says it will amendits Privacy Act to allow the victims of revenge porn to sue their bulliesthrough small-claims court, "which will be less costly for them."

Another option will allow victims to turn to the Court of Queen's Bench to halt the circulation of unwanted photos.

The changes will "put the onus on the person that circulates it to prove that they had the consent of the person who was in the pictures," Justice Minister Don Morgan told reporters after the throne speech.

Both options mean victims"don't have to wait for a criminal conviction," said Morgan, though he was quick to add that criminal prosecutions would still be considered in some cases.

Morgan admitted the government doesn't know how big a problem revenge porn is in the province but said the topic comes up "in the context of bullying."

"It's a tool that we want to give to victims in our province," he said.

Missing: Details on SixtiesScoop apology

Notably absent from the throne speech was any mention of an apology from the Saskatchewan government for its part in the Sixties Scoop.

Wall promised an apology more than two years ago.

• Apology coming but no money for Sixties Scoop: Sask. Premier Brad Wall

Asked about the status of it on Wednesday, he said the government is "ready to go" and suggested the ball rests in the court of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous First Nations (FSIN).

"We would like to have that done," said Wall. "We have indicated to both the Mtis Nation of Saskatchewan and the FSIN that we're ready to go.

Other promises

The throne speech outlines a number of other things the government wants to do. Here's a quick rundown of some of them.

Health care

• Expand the pool of organ donors by allowing for a donation after cardiocirculatory death.
• "Continue to explore" the option of moving to an organ donation system requiring people to opt out of being a donor. A provincial report released last year recommended sticking with the current opt-in system.
• Provide individualized funding for children under six with autism spectrum disorder during "this session," with funding set at $4,000 per year per child. The government had previously halted the spending.

Education

• "Expand math reinforcement and supports" to help boost math scores among Saskatchewan students.
• Work with provinces such as Quebec to increase the number of new French and French immersion teachers in the province.
• Set aside $45 million for post-secondary programs and skills training, and employment initiatives for Indigenous students.

Telecommunications

• Through SaskTel, spend $300 million this year to expand and improve the telecom'snetwork. Wall said more detail would be coming later this year.

Business

• Launch an incentive program to help mineral exploration companies fund their early-stage exploration work. This would be in addition to an existing tax credit.
• Consider "a range of retaliatory measures" in response to Alberta's rebate program for small brewers, which the throne speech says "discriminates against brewers in Saskatchewan."
• Raise the small business income threshold to $600,000 from $500,000. That's the amount of income up to which small businesses pay tax at the two per cent small business tax rate.

Tourism

• Create a new provincial park in the Porcupine Hills southeast of Hudson Bay the second new provincial in the last five years.

You canread the whole speech below. Don't see it? Click here.