Parents with concerns about the condition of École St. Pius X joined with the NDP at the Legislature to call on the Sask. Party government to finally commit to repairing or rebuilding the school.
“Having a school with cracking walls or a leaking roof is not a proper learning environment for any student,” said NDP Education Critic Carla Beck. “Parents and teachers have been raising the alarm about the unsafe state of St. Pius for years, but this government has failed to do anything about it.”
The Sask. Party government has been known to play shell games to try to spin that its PST hikes and its cuts to education and healthcare don’t actually hurt Saskatchewan people. The falling GDP projections hidden within Saskatchewan’s mid-year financials is the latest example.
The Sask. Party bragged about “cumulative GDP growth” for 2017 and 2018 being “slightly higher than the budget forecast” in the media release accompanying the mid-year report, but that supposed growth was entirely due to higher actual growth in 2017. When 2017’s GDP growth is taken out of the picture, a much bleaker prognosis emerges.
Kelly Csada, a mother-turned-advocate for improved supports for mental health and addictions, joined the NDP in the Legislature today to raise concerns about how people across rural and urban Saskatchewan are having trouble accessing proper treatment for addictions.
“This session we’ve heard so many concerns brought forward by families with different experiences with addictions,” said NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat. “They all want to see the Sask. Party government improve access to proper treatment. It’s long past time this government finally commits to funding the proper resources to handle this crisis.”
The consequences of the Sask. Party government’s cuts to the most vulnerable and tax hikes for the middle class are on full display in the 2018-19 fiscal update, with growth projections down significantly since the budget, and spending on social services up.
“It’s the choices we make when times are tough that define us,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “And by that measure, Premier Moe and the Sask. Party will be remembered for making the economic downturn worse by cutting health and education, and by adding the PST to key economic drivers like restaurant meals, construction labour, and used car sales.”
NDP join in his call for accountability
The Sask. Party’s mismanaged Regina Bypass has cost Saskatchewan $2 billion, but it has also cost Lloyd Rogina, a local property owner who believes his land and home have suffered extensive damage from the project’s high volume of heavy-haul traffic. The Sask. Party government deflected his concerns and told him to contact Regina Bypass Design Builders (RBDB), but he has not been satisfied with their responses, so Lloyd came to the Legislature and is demanding accountability.
Today, to address the Sask. Party government’s failure to properly plan and implement a suicide prevention strategy for Saskatchewan, the NDP introduced Bill No. 613 — The Saskatchewan Strategy for Suicide Prevention Act, 2018.
“In cities, towns, rural and remote areas, people are dying because they can’t get access to the care and supports they need,” said Northern Affairs Critic Doyle Vermette, who tabled the Bill Tuesday afternoon. “I have been to way too many funerals for people in my communities who felt they had nowhere to turn. Suicide is a serious problem in Saskatchewan, and something needs to be done.”