Moe and Meili both happy with parties' efforts after first session as leaders

Premier Scott Moe and NDP leader Ryan Meilihad different focuses during the first legislative sitting since each took leadership of their party.

The new premier spent much of the three-month spring session talking abouthis opposition to Ottawa, what he felt was the Liberal government's inaction on the Trans Mountain pipeline project and its plan to impose a carbon tax on Saskatchewan.

Meili, meanwhile, focused more on things going on within the province.

On the pipeline front, the province came up with legislation restricting energy exports to B.C., which it did not end up needing.

It also launched a reference case with the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal to see if the federal government had the jurisdiction to impose a carbon tax.

The issues of the pipeline and the carbon tax and their potential effects on the province's economy were flagged almost daily by government ministers and Premier Moe.

In final question period of the sitting Thursday, Moecalled on the NDPto join the government in supporting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and the opposition to the federal carbon tax.

Delayed budget released with little fanfare, opposition

The tragedy involving the Humboldt Broncos hockey team on Apr.6cast a shadow over the spring session and the budget,which was released just four days after the crash.

Minister of Finance Donna Harpauer, who is also the member for Humboldt, delivered her first budget on Apr. 10, only the second woman in the province's history to do so.

Unlike the 2017-18 budget, Scott Moe's first budget did not see the amount of opposition from the public or the NDP that his predecessor's final budget received.

Before the budget was announced, Moe announced a PSTexemption on agriculture, health and life insurance.

The Apr. 10 budget, delayed due to the leadership race, projected a $365-million deficit and did not raise the PST.

"We were able to put our stamp on the budget. We are on track in our second year to to balance that budget next year. We were pleased with the legislative session that we had this spring," Moe said Thursday.

Some budget items that received consistent attention from the NDPwereeducation funding and changes to the rental housing supplement .

The NDP asked for a full re-instatement of$54 million cut to education in 2017. The province did commit $30 million in this year's budget. The premier said he will continue to have conversations with the education sector.

"We saw only partial return of the support to education, we'd like to see that improve," Meili said Thursday.

The NDPalso asked for separate provincial strategies for domestic violence and sexual assault.

"I really enjoyed this first session, I was really happy with the way our team ofMLAscame forward,"Meilisaid.

GTH, Bill Boyd continue to raise questions

Throughout the sitting, the NDP highlighted issues at the Global Transportation Hub, from mounting debt, lack of land sales and the release of documents requested by media.

The minister responsible said he asked the GTH for an aggressive marketing plan to sell land and, after prodding from the NDP, requested justice officials to help the GTH release documents which the privacy commissioner said should be public.

Premier Moe was quizzed about a meeting with Bill Boyd in the spring of 2017, when Moe was the minister of environment. Moe said Boyd showed him plans for an irrigation project but recalled little else from that meeting.

Boyd later pleaded guilty to breaking environmental laws. He was fined $35,000 in April.