NDP Leader Ryan Meili today branded the loss of nearly 500 jobs at Evraz "weak leadership" on the part of Sask. Party Premier Scott Moe. Meili reiterated his call, first made in August, for the Premier to support threatened jobs at the steel mill by advocating for the use of Canadian steel on Canadian projects, and to lead by example by implementing a Sask-first procurement policy for Saskatchewan Crowns.
"This loss of hundreds of jobs is deeply regrettable, but it wasn't inevitable. Four months ago I stood with Evraz workers in Regina and urged the Premier to defend these jobs," said Meili. "Well, we learned this week that the Premier didn't even try, and now hundreds of Regina families are facing a bleak Christmas because of his weak leadership."
The layoffs announced Thursday were followed by new numbers from Statistics Canada today showing that 2,800 jobs were lost in the province in November and that Saskatchewan has 20,800 fewer jobs today than a year ago.
“Under the Sask. Party, the ten biggest infrastructure projects in the last ten years have all gone to out-of-province and out-of-country companies,” said NDP Labour Critic Carla Beck. “Before COVID-19 hit, that was already a significant blow to our economy. Right now, it's downright reckless. Scott Moe needs to step up for Saskatchewan jobs, pick up the phone, and start pushing other provinces and the federal government to use Canadian steel on Canadian infrastructure projects.”
Beck further pushed Moe to commit to using Saskatchewan steel in replacement lines for SaskEnergy. “Our Crowns should be leading by example. When we’re spending our dollars on our infrastructure, we should be using our companies, our workers, and our products.”