About Saskatchewan Legislative Network

Saskatchewan Legislative Network

Overview

The Saskatchewan Legislative Network is the province-wide cable television network that broadcasts the sittings of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from the Legislative Building in Regina. Live television coverage of the Assembly began in March 1983, making Saskatchewan one of the earliest Canadian jurisdictions to televise its legislature — and, at launch, the first parliament in the world to use an automated, computer-driven television switching system.

The network carries complete sittings of the Assembly in their entirety, along with committee proceedings, distributed across the province through local cable companies and SaskTel Max, SaskTel's television service, and streamed live on the Legislative Assembly's website. It operates under the authority of the Speaker: the Assembly's Rules provide that the proceedings of the Assembly and its committees shall be broadcast on television and the internet, and that the production, distribution and reproduction of those broadcasts follow guidelines set by the Assembly.

History

Saskatchewan's legislative broadcasting has a long record of firsts. In 1946 the province's legislature became the first in Canada — and second only to New Zealand's in the Commonwealth — to broadcast its proceedings by radio, a response to a population spread thinly over vast distances. In 1947 it became the first legislature in the Commonwealth to produce an "electronic Hansard," recording debates on a Dictaphone machine rather than relying solely on shorthand reporters.

Television was studied formally from 1975, but an early committee recommended against proceeding: the capital cost was high, a conventional system would require dozens of staff for a sessional service, and few cable companies yet existed in the province to distribute the signal. A renewed study in 1979 found conditions had changed — cable service had reached Saskatchewan cities, new cameras worked in far lower light, and automation promised to cut operating costs sharply. In December 1980 the Assembly's Rules Committee recommended an in-house television system modelled on Ottawa's but with computer automation added, and the Assembly chose to record and broadcast complete proceedings rather than highlights.

The system was installed through 1982 and tested during the fall sitting. It used five remote-control cameras recessed unobtrusively into the chamber walls — one in each corner and one in the woodwork above the main entrance facing the Speaker — moving silently and without tally lights so that most visitors would not even notice them. Three were driven by computer presets, with switching triggered by the chamber's sound system: when the Speaker recognized a member, that member's microphone activated, prompting the appropriate servo camera to tilt, pan, zoom and focus, with the member's name and constituency appearing on screen for five seconds. In practice the cameras were in position and focused in under two seconds. The control centre itself was converted from a former broom closet adjacent to the chamber. The whole installation cost about $1.5 million, with projected operating costs of about $100,000 a year, and could be run by just three people: a Director of Television Services and two technician/operators. Live broadcasts began on March 17, 1983, the opening of the second session of the twentieth legislature, with cable companies in Regina and Saskatoon carrying every complete sitting; four more cities were connected on April 11, 1983. At launch the Assembly itself paid for distribution of the signal, at a cost of roughly $21,000 a month during the session.

The distribution arrangements evolved with the province's broadcasting landscape. A fibre-optic link connected the Assembly to SaskTel's Television Operations Centre in Regina, from which broadcasters and cable companies could take a live feed. When the government wound down the Saskatchewan Communications Network in 2010, the broadcast of the legislative channel was among the services maintained through SaskTel's satellite system. During the COVID-19 pandemic the Assembly used a combination of remote and on-site production services to keep its Hansard and broadcast work going.

Programming and Content

The network's programming is the Assembly itself. Sittings are carried complete — the Assembly's early decision to show all members' contributions rather than edited highlights still defines the service — and there is no host or presenter: factual information about the business under consideration, such as "Consideration of Estimates," is shown in text across the bottom of the screen from time to time. From the outset the broadcasts followed Assembly-set guidelines: only the member on his or her feet is shown, in head-and-shoulders or medium close-up, split-screen shots are not permitted, and applause shots must reflect the decorum of the chamber.

Since 2006 the Assembly has followed a parliamentary calendar, with a six-week fall period beginning in October and a ten-week spring period starting in March. In session, the regular hours are Monday and Tuesday from 1:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with a recess from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Legislative committees meet in the chamber or in a committee room and are likewise open and broadcast. Set pieces such as the Speech from the Throne and the budget speech anchor each session.

The television and live-stream broadcasts of Assembly proceedings now include closed captioning, a service the Assembly highlighted as the 30th Legislative Assembly resumed for its spring session, and guests in the chamber can borrow a smart device that displays the captions in real time.

Audience and Reach

The network publishes no ratings, and none are claimed here. Its reach is province-wide by design: proceedings are available live in their entirety across Saskatchewan via the Assembly's video stream and through local cable companies and SaskTel Max, so residents in communities throughout the province can follow their legislature without travelling to Regina. Archived video of proceedings is available online through the Assembly's records calendar, and permanent records are stored and maintained by the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan.

Digital Presence

The network's digital home is the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan's website, legassembly.sk.ca, which the inventory records as its web address. The site's "Watch Legislative Proceedings" pages carry the live stream — viewable on mobile devices including tablets and phones — together with links to find the legislative channel on local television services, and the archive of recorded sittings. The Assembly's written record is integrated with the broadcasts: Saskatchewan's Hansard, the Debates and Proceedings, has been fully digitized back to 1947, with indexes available from 1996 onward.

Reference listings for British Columbia's Hansard TV credit that service with managing the operation of the Saskatchewan Legislative Network, a notable arrangement under which the broadcast expertise of one province's legislature supports another's.

Ownership and Organisation

The Saskatchewan Legislative Network is a service of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, operated as part of the Assembly's own administration rather than by a commercial broadcaster. Under the Assembly's Rules and Procedures, the television and internet broadcast of proceedings is under the authority of the Speaker, and its production and distribution are subject to guidelines contained in the appendix to the Rules. The Assembly's Hansard office produces the official verbatim records of the Assembly and its committees and supports the broadcast operation, with personnel present in the chamber and committee rooms during proceedings.

Contact and Availability

The Saskatchewan Legislative Network is available on cable systems across the province and on SaskTel Max; the Legislative Assembly's website provides a guide to finding the legislative channel on local services. Live streaming and archived broadcasts are free to watch on legassembly.sk.ca. Inquiries about watching the proceedings can be directed to the Assembly at helpdesk@legassembly.sk.ca or (306) 787-7722, as published on the Assembly's website. Broadcasts follow the parliamentary calendar: fall sittings from October and spring sittings from March, Monday to Thursday each sitting week.