As the number of construction jobs and the value of building permits continue to drop in the province, the Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the government to cancel its PST hike to construction labour.
“The Sask. Party’s PST hike has hurt our construction industry and its many skilled workers,” said NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon. “With jobs and major projects at stake, the Sask. Party government needs to finally admit the damage and reverse course.”
Today, MLAs will be voting on a motion put forward by the NDP that calls for the launch of a judicial inquiry into the GTH land scandal.
“The GTH is $40 million in debt and has only sold 22 acres of land since 2013,” said NDP GTH Critic Cathy Sproule. “The only way to dig out of this mess and begin to recoup the public losses would be to lift the cloud of scandal that hangs over this project by finally calling the judicial inquiry that two Sask. Party leadership candidates once promised. The people of the province deserve to know where their money went, and why the only beneficiaries in this ordeal have been large Sask. Party donors.”
The NDP is calling Saskatchewan’s childcare access and affordability the worst in the country, as many Saskatchewan families today are struggling to find and afford space for their children.
“The income cut-off to be eligible for subsidies in Saskatchewan hasn’t been raised since 1982, and the subsidy itself hasn’t been raised since 2006,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “With $3 million less in this budget for early years learning, it seems the government only wants to spend on the province’s future when the federal government forces them to.”
With Saskatchewan’s minimum wage once again the lowest in the country, after Nova Scotia hiked its by 55 cents today to $11.55 per hour, the NDP is calling on government MLAs to vote in favour of their bill to phase in a $15/hour minimum wage.
“At a time when Saskatchewan already has the lowest year-over-year change in average weekly earnings, we need to be focused on upstream solutions that will lower poverty, make life more affordable for families and boost local businesses,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “Raising the minimum wage would achieve all three.”
The Saskatchewan NDP is calling out the Sask. Party’s budget, which includes ballooning debt and shrinking per-student funding for education.
“This is a budget that piles on record debt, that leaves a deficit in our classrooms and that does nothing to help families or our economy struggling with the damage caused by the Sask. Party’s doubling of the PST,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “It’s clear this government is trying to balance the books off the backs of Saskatchewan people – that is completely off-balance with Saskatchewan values.”
The NDP is calling on the Sask. Party to reverse its damaging approach to the economy, which is hurting Saskatchewan worker’s average weekly wages as shown in today’s Statistics Canada report.
“The government could fix the broken procurement model, improve the minimum wage, or ramp up renewable power and energy efficient retrofits,” said NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon. “Instead what we’ve seen from the Sask. Party is hurtful policies such as scrapping the film tax credit and hiking the PST on construction labour.”