Saskatchewan NDP Caucus

Sask. Party’s incomplete and inadequate budget leaves public with clear choice

The summer Legislative session that almost wasn’t wrapped today. Throughout the three-week session the NDP pushed  the government to put people first in education, long-term care and economic recovery planning, and rejected the Sask. Party’s incomplete and inadequate budget document as a pre-election ploy designed to distract from their plans for cuts and sell-offs.

“Saskatchewan people, who have sacrificed so much in recent months, face a clear choice between a tired government that won’t be honest about their plans for cuts and sell-offs, and an NDP opposition committed to investing in people,” Meili said. “The Premier didn’t want to present a budget or face us in the Legislature. We gave the Premier a chance to present a budget and a recovery plan. He hid instead behind a cut-and-paste budget from before the pandemic that added no new funding for education or healthcare, childcare or seniors’ care.”

Snap decision to cancel contract puts rural healthcare at risk: NDP

NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat questioned Health Minister Jim Reiter today about his decision to cancel the pandemic contracts with family doctors without notice or consultation.

“This pandemic has exposed the strains and pressures on our already-stretched healthcare system, particularly in rural Saskatchewan, where this government has struggled for years to keep emergency rooms open and keep doctors in rural communities,” said Mowat.

Reality check: The five weirdest things Moe said in Premier’s Estimates

Premier Scott Moe had some curious things to say in Premier’s Estimates today under questioning from Leader of the Opposition Ryan Meili. 

First, when asked if he had seen any financial projections beyond the current year as part of the budget development process, the Premier said he had not. Days earlier when asked how long it would take to get the province back to balance, he shrugged and said the Finance Minister “knows more than me” when informed she had said it would take three to four years. It stretches the imagination to accept that the Premier has been so hands-off in the development of his pre-election budget.

NDP questions Sask. Party’s ‘Lean’ PPE purge

Information obtained through Freedom of Information shows the Sask. Party government paid high-priced US-based Lean consultants to lead healthcare workers through a purge of a pandemic supply warehouse in Regina with the explicit goal of donating, recycling or trashing fifty percent of the pandemic stockpile.

“The Sask. Party’s Lean consultants led healthcare professionals through a ‘spring cleaning’ of the pandemic room at the Regina General Hospital with the explicit goal of reducing inventory by fifty percent,” said NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat. “They Marie-Kondo’d our pandemic supply warehouse, and we want to know how much that approach contributed to leaving us dangerously short of supplies this spring.”

“‘Just trust us’ isn’t good enough for people worried about their jobs, their schools, their healthcare”: NDP pushes for complete budget before election

Rejecting the Sask. Party’s cut-and-paste budget as incomplete and not up to the task of kickstarting a people-first recovery, NDP Leader Ryan Meili pressed the Premier today to return in September with a complete budget, including the standard four-year projections and an allocation of the $200 million contingency fund. 

“When Scott Moe finally agreed to our calls to return to the Legislature, we expected him to show up with a recovery plan. Instead, he brought nothing but a cut-and-paste rehash of the pre-pandemic budget the Sask. Party wanted to present in March,” said Meili. “They are hiding their true plans for deep cuts after the next election from the people of Saskatchewan.

NDP slams budget as attempt to distract from cuts and sell-offs to come

Today the NDP opposition highlighted the gaping holes in the Sask. Party’s budget, branding it “incomplete and inadequate” and a document that “fails to meet the basic requirements Saskatchewan people expect.” NDP Leader Ryan Meili dismissed the budget as a deception and a distraction designed to shield the Sask. Party from hard questions about their plans until after the next election.

“Saskatchewan people expected the government to come back with a recovery plan. After three months of work, the Sask. Party showed up with nothing but a cut-and-paste rehash of the same budget they tried to present in March,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “From students to seniors to small-business owners, this document is fundamentally disconnected with the reality Saskatchewan people are facing.”