In an effort to allow families the ability to fully access parental leave benefits, the NDP introduced Bill No. 610 — The Saskatchewan Employment (Extended Parental Leave) Amendment Act, 2018.
The federal government has extended parental leave up to 18 months, but the Sask. Party continues to limit it to only 12 months and has failed to change the Saskatchewan Employment Act.
As suicides continue to disproportionately affect First Nation and Metis families throughout Saskatchewan, the NDP is urging the Sask. Party to support the strategy put forward by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), and commit the proper funding needed to address this serious issue.
“We know First Nations leaders are experts in the needs of their communities and I would like to thank the FSIN for creating this valuable document,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “Sadly, the Sask. Party government has left the large task of preventing suicides in the hands of the affected communities instead of taking the leadership role and working with them to create a strategy.”
After years of providing staunch opposition to Bill 40, which gave the Sask. Party back door access to privatizing Crown corporations, the NDP has successfully forced the repeal of said Bill.
“The people of Saskatchewan have been crystal clear that they don’t want to see the Sask. Party sell off any of their Crown corporations. Why it took the Sask. Party years to listen is beyond me and it shows that the Sask. Party can’t be trusted with our Crowns,” said NDP Justice Critic Nicole Sarauer.
The Sask. Party’s lack of funding and mismanagement is putting seniors’ care in jeopardy at Regina Pioneer Village. Nearly 100 seniors are being forced to move from their residence as reports of mould are causing health concerns. The Sask. Party has known about the multiplying issues at the long-term care facility but has done nothing to address these serious concerns.
“There have been boil water advisories, asbestos remediation, mould, infrastructure issues – the list goes on,” said NDP Health Critic Danielle Chartier. “However, the Sask. Party’s 2017 CEO Tour reports don’t mention any infrastructure issues. It’s discouraging and disappointing that, after knowing about these issues for a long time, this government failed to acknowledge the seriousness of them and now we are seeing close to 100 people uprooted from their homes.”
The Sask. Party’s PST hike is still negatively impacting investment in new housing builds and it’s hitting the construction industry hard and costing jobs. Statistics Canada released a report showing that Saskatchewan saw a $12.6 million decrease in investments for new housing construction, and was the only province that saw a decrease from March 2017 to March 2018.
“The drop in construction activity combined with this decrease in investments shows just how much the construction industry is suffering,” said NDP Jobs and Housing Critic Vicki Mowat. “On top of the constant hits to the construction industry, this government does not appear to have a plan to create and sustain jobs.”
Sask. Party content to allow out of province corporations to influence Saskatchewan elections
Saskatchewan’s outdated campaign finance laws have made this province the “wild west” of election fundraising, and despite the proposition of a bill by the NDP that is common sense and would bring the province’s laws in line with the rest of the country, the Sask. Party voted for more of the same.
“Our province has long had broken campaign finance laws that allow unlimited out-of-province donations, and the people of Saskatchewan have been calling for change,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “It’s disappointing that the Sask. Party want to continue to allow the election process in Saskatchewan to be influenced by large corporations, when it should belong to the people of the province.”