Premier Scott Moe’s Bill 137 the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act debate could finish on Thursday night in the Saskatchewan Legislature.Moe’s government doubled the debate time for Bill 137 to 40 hours instead of the usual 20 hours. They also extended the sitting hours for the legislature from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., which started on Monday.By Thursday night, the debate hours will be done.However, it's still uncertain if Moe’s government will pass and sign the bill immediately following the end of the debate time.The NDP has monopolized the debate time this week, with NDP MLAs speaking for at least five hours and several for as much as eight hours.However, the NDP MLAs spent a considerable amount of their debate time re-reading the bill, the Children’s Advocate report, letters and the injunction decision from the court case filed by the University of Regina Pride Centre.When NDP Education Critic Matt Love asked the Sask Party MLAs if they had read the judge's injunction decision, not a single one raised their hand. Love tried to give them copies of the decision, but no Sask Party MLA accepted a copy.“Being on their feet. And you know they’re not just taking up time. They are putting meaningful remarks on the record. They’re reading the voices of people in the province who want to have a voice in this debate,” NDP leader Carla Beck told reporters in the rotunda. “They should be doing their homework, as our education critic repeatedly pointed out. They should be focused on the things that matter to the people of this province.”“If this is such an emergency that they had to call us back for the first time in 25 years. If this issue is the most pressing to the extent that they’re willing to override Charter rights and the human rights code,” said Beck.“The very least I think people should expect of their leaders is to pay attention to the debate, to put forth some arguments. That’s not what we’re seeing from this government.”Moe’s government “did not think this through, Mr. Speaker. Hastily drafted, badly drafted, no concern for the impacts,” said NDP MLA Meara Conway in her six-hour speech.“Because this isn’t about policy, this isn’t about what’s good for people, this is about partisan politics.”“I think that it is just powerful to have voices who will be affected by this have the ability for them to speak out and have their voices heard in this legislature,” said NDP MLA Nathaniel Teed while reading letters during his speech.
