LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Airborne Contaminants 

Jan 15: Saskatchewan amended its Pest Control Products Regulations. Key changes include a new license category for and drift liability insurance requirements for pesticides-spraying Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (drones) one-year terms for all commercial pesticide license types, and new record-keeping requirements for GPS-assisted pesticide application.    

Action Point: Do you use pesticides or other airborne contaminants at your site? Find out how to implement a compliant Respiratory Protection Policy at your workplace. 

Transportation Safety 

Mar 31: March 31 is the final day for Saskatchewan communities to apply for Provincial Traffic Safety Fund Grants for projects focusing on speeding, impaired, aggressive or distracted driving, occupant protection, intersection safety, vulnerable road users and/or medically-at-risk drivers. Saskatchewan awarded over $2 million in grants for 80 projects across 78 communities in the most recent round.  

Action Point: Find out how far you can go in disciplining workers for distracted and dangerous driving.  

Industry Challenges 

Jan 20: Effective today, energy sector service rigs drivers don't have to obtain G-Endorsements to their licences to operate in Saskatchewan, provided that they're Canadian Association of Energy Contractors (CAOEC) member drivers. The province also eliminated the rule requiring CAOEC service rig drivers to submit periodic medical reports to Saskatchewan Government Insurance.  

Industry Challenges 

Jan 21: The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan are replacing the Forage Rainfall Insurance Program (FRIP) with Satellite Forage Insurance that will provide enhanced business risk management support for the livestock sector. Current FRIP customers will be automatically enrolled in Satellite Forage Insurance, which is available in high, medium and low coverage levels depending on soil zone.   

Nuclear Safety 

Jan 19: The University of Regina will receive $1.96 million from the federal Prairies Economic Development Canada program to build the Small Modular Reactor Safety, Licensing, and Testing centre (SMR-SLT). The province will also contribute $4 million to the project to create the new testing facility dedicated to helping Canadian researchers and businesses safely develop and deploy next-generation nuclear technologies. 

Workplace Violence 

Jan 22: In response to recent incidents, Saskatchewan launched a comprehensive, independent review of safety and security at hospitals in the province. The panel will consider both physical security and cultural safety environment measures to improve safety for hospital patients, staff, and visitors. in hospital settings. 

Action Point: Are you doing enough to prevent violence at your workplace? You should perform a Workplace Violence Compliance Audit to find out.  

Workers' Compensation 

Feb 28: February 28 is the deadline for Saskatchewan employers to file their Employer's Payroll Statement (EPS) listing their actual payroll expenses in 2025 and estimated payroll expenses for 2026. Remember that under new rules that took effect last year, corporate directors are no longer automatically covered by workers' compensation and shouldn't be listed in the company's workers' assessable payroll totals.  

Action Point: Find out how much each province and territory is charging for workers' compensation premiums in 2026. 

Workers' Compensation 

Feb 2: The Saskatchewan WCB issued a new policy on how it will handle appeals involving individual rights under the Charter and Constitution. The agency implemented the new policy and procedures in response to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling finding that administrative tribunals, like the WCB, have jurisdiction, that is, legal authority, to hear appeals involving such rights.  

Environmental 

Feb 2: The federal Pest Management Regulatory Agency denied a joint request by Saskatchewan and Alberta that would have permitted emergency use of 2% liquid strychnine to manage Richardson's ground squirrels during the 2026 crop growing season. Richardson's ground squirrels are pests that feed on forage grasses, forage legumes, cereal crops, pulse crops, canola, and native grasses, causing potentially significant financial losses for agricultural producers. 

CASES

Environmental: Court Declines Case Second Guessing Government Climate Change Policy 

An environmental activist group went to court seeking an order to set aside the government's decision to approve SaskPower's request to extend the life of two coal-powered generating stations. The court refused to take the case. While acknowledging that climate change is a real threat, the court reasoned that the role of courts is to resolve disputes about law, not politics. "Courts should not be dictating to the Government of Saskatchewan what its overarching environmental policy should be" nor getting "involved in the day-to-day steps of a government, like where to put the town dump" [Citizens for Public Justice v Saskatchewan, 2026 SKKB 9 (CanLII), January 12, 2026].