Rejecting PCC rubber stamp, NDP lays out path for developments in Wascana Park

Indicating that the proposed Brandt project in the park should not be allowed to go forward, the Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the Saskatchewan government and Provincial Capital Commission to commit to the following steps to ensure the integrity of developments in Wascana Park, including the future home for CNIB:

  • Amend the legislation to re-establish the previous Wascana Centre board structure in order to ensure equal decision-making power for the province, the city, and the university.
  • Full, meaningful public consultations on the design of the future home of CNIB.
  • Full transparency on PCC board discussions of the proposed CNIB/Brandt project, including the release of meeting minutes previously refused to the NDP.

“The Sask. Party is doubling down on a failed model to ram through a project that only benefits the wealthy and well-connected” said NDP Deputy Leader and Provincial Capital Commission Critic Nicole Sarauer. “We need to be clear that this flawed project can’t go ahead in its current form. None of the Auditor’s concerns have been addressed, and now they’re trying to rush through an approval before her report can be scrutinized.”

Seeking transparency, the NDP submitted an FOI requesting meeting minutes from each meeting of the PCC board where the CNIB building or the CNIB/Brandt proposal were considered since January 1, 2013, but the request was refused.

Sarauer underscored the Sask. Party needs to re-establish the previous Wascana Centre board structure and must give members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts the opportunity to scrutinize the Auditor’s report before anything moves forward. The Public Accounts Committee will meet to consider the Auditor’s Report on February 26.

“Anyone who looks at the process that led to this point would conclude that it’s seriously shady,” Sarauer said. “To reward that mess with a rubber stamp and a go-ahead for an office tower in a public park for one of the Sask. Party’s biggest donors is letting down the people of this province.”

Latest posts

Minister of Rural and Remote Health Cites Placeholder Funding In Out-Year Budgets, But Records Show No Such Amounts Exist 
YORKTON – Scott Moe and the Sask. Party either don’t have a clue on the costs or completion timeline for the desperately needed new Yorkton Hospital — a project the government promised to deliver 14 years ago — or they’re willfully hiding those details from the public. 

Saskatchewan Homicide Rate Nearly 74% Higher Since Sask. Party Formed Government
REGINA – Carla Beck’s team is calling out Scott Moe for prioritizing press conferences and ribbon cuttings while Saskatchewan people keep their doors locked after the homicide rate in the province has surged to nearly three times the national average and the highest in the country.
Saskatchewan Homicide Rate Nearly 74% Higher Since Sask. Party Formed Government 
REGINA – Carla Beck’s team is calling out Scott Moe for prioritizing press conferences and ribbon cuttings, while Saskatchewan people keep their doors locked after homicides in the province have surged to three times the national average, and the highest in the country.  

Yorkton, Swift Current, Moose Jaw And Prince Albert All Saw Job Losses
REGINA – Saskatchewan saw significant job losses in the month of July according to data released by Stats Canada today, impacting communities across the province, while youth unemployment climbed to over 12 per cent.

Share this post