Premier, environment minister to miss another climate march

Once again groups of students holding signs and waving at cars will march down Albert Street and gather in front of the Saskatchewan legislative building.

They’ll cheer, some of them will speak and all will be exhorting change and asking governments to take climate change seriously.

They’re expected to march today.

However, the march will go off without attendance from Saskatchewan’s premier or environment minister.

The march is part of the global Fridays for Future movement which has seen students around the world leave class and demonstrate.

This week’s rally in Regina is expected to be a bit bigger, as people from the solar industry have been invited to attend. Last week, SaskPower announced it was closing applications to the net metering program and would review to see what might replace it.

A release from the organizers of the rally said on Friday they’ll be asking the government to reopen the net metering program and expand it to help the province shift away from fossil fuel energy.

However, neither Environment Minister Dustin Duncan nor Premier Scott Moe will be there to hear it. An email from the premier’s office Thursday confirmed that Duncan and Moe will be observing their office hours in their constituencies on Friday, and that Moe hadn’t directed any government representatives whether or not to attend the rally.

Earlier this week, Duncan was asked why he didn’t attend the rally last week and he said he didn’t know whether he’d been invited. When pressed, he went on to explain that he’s often not in Regina on Fridays.

“I’d be happy to speak to students, it’s not an issue. We try to keep Fridays open for constituency hours, that’s when I meet with my constituents. I know I had constituency meetings last week,” explained Duncan, whose constituency office is in Weyburn.

Duncan said he would commit to meeting with the students but, at the time, wouldn’t commit to going to Friday’s rally because he wouldn’t want to change his office hours without checking his calendar first.

The Saskatchewan NDP is taking a dim view of Duncan not being at the rallies.

“I think it’s just gutless and weak of the environment minister and of the Sask. Party to be absent from coming out to this and talk to and share their perspective with young people and to hear from these young people,” said the NDP’s Trent Wotherspoon.

Wotherspoon said that he and his colleagues have been to many of the rallies, and that people don’t have to be invited.