“The Sask. Party has a lot to answer for, and we’ll be focused on keeping them accountable, whether it’s demanding action on child poverty or demanding answers on the sweetheart deal they gave their biggest donor while rolling over democracy in Wascana Park,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “We’ll also continue to advocate for smart policies that help everyone do better, like a $15 minimum wage, free prescription drug coverage, and a plan to address our province’s mental health crisis.”
Meili said the NDP will be focused on what the government can be doing to make lives better for kids, whether it’s by restoring funding to classrooms or expanding access to mental health services.
The economy will play a large part of the session, with the budget being tabled March 20. Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon said that up to this point the Sask. Party has tried to both cut and tax its way out of the financial woes facing the province.
“We have seen the Sask. Party hike taxes on working people while cutting services we all depend on” said Wotherspoon. “That hurts important industries like construction, and it hurts families. It’s not right to say a budget is ‘balanced’ when it is done on the backs of future generations or by cutting services that families depend on to get by.”
The NDP will continue to hold the Sask. Party to account for costly choices at the GTH and Regina Bypass while working to close the conflict of interest loopholes and get big money out of politics.
“We will continue to put forward our vision of a better Saskatchewan while pushing for accountability for the choices that got us where we are,” Meili said.