REGINA -- The Saskatchewan government plans to change its Privacy Act so that people who have been victims of revenge porn or sexting can sue for compensation.
The government said in its throne speech Wednesday that cyberbullying through unauthorized sharing of intimate images "is a despicable crime, one that most often victimizes young people."
"But it has proven difficult to rely on the Criminal Code to deter this crime because the burden of proof ... is so high."
The intent is to allow people who have had intimate images shared without their permission to seek redress through small claims court.
The amendments will also "create a reverse onus requiring the defendant to prove the plaintiff consented to the release of the images in question."
The throne speech was the last for Premier Brad Wall, who is retiring when his successor is chosen in January.
The outline for the session includes new organ donation measures whereby all deaths or imminent deaths in hospital critical-care units are referred to an organ donation group.
The government also plans to introduce legislation so that Saskatchewan Government Insurance can offer coverage to ride-hailing companies such as Uber. Wall said he wants to encourage municipalities to allow ride-booking services to reduce impaired driving.
"I do think we just need more options for Saskatchewan people," Wall said Wednesday at the legislature.
"Obviously almost every major North America city is comfortable with respect to the safety that's provided by the various ride-sharing platforms."
Saskatchewan has some of the highest rates of impaired driving in Canada. Statistics Canada says there were 683 police-reported impaired driving cases per 100,000 population in Saskatchewan in 2011. The Canadian average was 262.
Interim NDP leader Nicole Sarauer said she doesn't know if statistics show ride-hailing programs would reduce impaired driving and questioned several of the government's plans.
"This is clearly a throne speech that is more about serving the premier's legacy and protecting the premier's legacy than it is about serving Saskatchewan people," she said.
Sarauer also questioned the government's rush to introduce legislation so that non-Catholic parents could choose to send their children to separate schools by invoking the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian charter.
An April court ruling found that public funding of non-Catholic students in the Catholic school system is unconstitutional.
It prompted concern from parents that their children might have to switch schools and be educated in different communities in rural Saskatchewan. Wall said at the time that there could be greatly overpopulated public schools and empty or near-empty separate schools.
Sarauer said the decision has been stayed pending the outcome of the province's appeal of the ruling and, potentially, a Supreme Court challenge.
"We need to let that process first work its way through first, before we consider using the notwithstanding clause," she said.
Wall said plans for legislation on the notwithstanding clause shouldn't come as a surprise.
"We are indicating pretty clearly that in a proactive way we're going to protect school choice in the province notwithstanding what happens through the court process," he said.
Wall has said there will be more than 40 pieces of legislation introduced in the session as well as some new initiatives.
The government is also backtracking on a tax cut that was just made in July. It says it will raise the corporate tax rate back to 12 per cent from 11.5 per cent.
The tax was lowered so that Saskatchewan's rate matched other western provinces, but Wall has said that's no longer necessary because British Columbia has increased its corporate rate.
The session is also expected to include legislation to govern the sale and distribution of marijuana.
