Saskatchewan NDP Caucus

Statement from NDP Labour Critic on Crown Bargaining

As Crown sector workers go back into bargaining today, NDP Labour critic David Forbes released the following statement:

“This Sask. Party government has a long history of scheming to weaken the Crown corporations that the people of Saskatchewan are so proud of. Preventing our Crowns from negotiating a fair deal with their workers is just more of the same. People who rely on the services our Crowns provide are being let down by a government that is attempting to undermine our Crowns. They’ve pushed wage roll-backs for Crown workers and big raises for Crown executives, all while raiding Crown dividends to make up for their own misspending.

NDP calls on government to address safety concerns ahead of opening new Children’s Hospital

The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the government to commit that no children will be admitted to a newly completed children’s hospital that is “rife with safety and suicide risks” until those risks are addressed.

“These design flaws in what should be a state-of-the-art facility represent an abject failure of leadership from this government,” said NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat. “They turned the opening of a children’s hospital into a political photo op while failing to put children’s health and safety first, even as we raised significant concerns in recent months about the planning and design of this facility.”

NDP push for transparency while Sask. Party try to hide information on Crown sell-off from the public

The Sask. Party government is refusing to be transparent about their plans to sell off SaskTel, by ignoring rulings from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner ordering the release of more information on the potential sale.

“The government continues to let people down by scheming to sell off our Crowns,” said NDP SaskTel critic Warren McCall. “It’s clear that the Sask. Party’s plans to sell off SaskTel were much more developed than they led the Saskatchewan public to believe and it’s time for them to stop hiding the truth about this.”

“Easy fix is to scrap it”: NDP calls for end to Sask. Party PST hike as it continues to hurt jobs, businesses

With new data showing ongoing damage to the construction industry as a result of the Sask. Party’s expansion of the PST to construction labour, the NDP is calling on the government to undo the damage by walking back their tax hike.

According to Statistics Canada, there has been a 25 per cent reduction in the value of building permits since the Sask. Party hiked the PST on construction labour in April 2017. 

 

NDP renews call for suicide prevention strategy

On World Suicide Prevention Day, the NDP is calling on the Sask. Party to stop standing in the way of a province-wide suicide prevention strategy, and act to ensure that people struggling with mental health and addictions challenges get the help they need.

“The suicide rate in Saskatchewan is among the worst in the country, and continues to rise,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “That is why we’re calling on the provincial government to put real support into a suicide prevention strategy. Too many lives have been lost.” 

"Show your work": NDP calls on Minister to release results of Sask. Party education survey

As students across the province return to school, NDP Education Critic Carla Beck called on Education Minister Gord Wyant to release the results of the government's education survey, rather than just a vague summary, and slammed the Sask. Party government for silencing the voices of teachers in their comments on what the survey found.

“If the responses to the government's survey look anything like the responses we received to our survey, there's no wonder the Education Minister wants to bury them. Our schools are in crisis. Forty percent of teachers have considered leaving the profession. Seventy percent of EAs witness or experience violence every week or every day. Everyone is raising the alarm. And the Sask. Party would prefer to sweep those concerns under the rug and pretend that everything’s fine."