SASKATOON — Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck believes in the potential of Saskatchewan, saying that it is a wealthy province with abundant resources and accusing the Saskatchewan Party-led government of mishandling the finances, which failed to prioritize funding education and healthcare.
"This is an incredibly wealthy province. Saskatchewan is a province with an incredible amount of opportunity. The problem is not revenues. The problem is that a tired, out-of-touch government has stopped listening to people. Not only has it not worked to fix these concerns, but it has made it worse," said Beck in an exclusive interview with SaskToday.
"Not only did [they] not work to fix these concerns, [they] made it worse. Now, on the eve of an election, I'm sure they will come and make a lot of promises, but I ask the people of Saskatchewan, are your lives better off after six years of a Scott Moe-Saskatchewan Party government?"
She was in Saskatoon Tuesday night, Oct. 1, for the second stop of the opposition's "It's Time for Change" 2024 election campaign in the Saskatchewan NDP's candidates' office of Alana Wakula (Saskatoon Willowgrove), Tajinder Grewal (Saskatoon University-Sutherland), Hugh Gordon (Saskatoon Silverspring), Don McBean (Saskatoon Chief Mistawasis), and Nathaniel Teed (Saskatoon Meewasin).
Beck, a former trustee of the Regina Public Schools, and the opposition will take on the Saskatchewan Party of Scott Moe in the Oct. 28 elections, where she is looking to be the province's first female premier. She said the Saskatchewan Party had promised many things in 2016 but broke them, decimating services, making cuts, and expanding the provincial sales tax.
"They made many promises again in 2020 about health care and the cost of living and broke them again. People are getting less, they've driven up the debt, Saskatchewan people are paying the price, and it's no wonder that Saskatchewan people are looking for change. We are so focused on the people of Saskatchewan where we're at right now, certainly building on our strengths," said Beck.
"There are so many strengths in this province, first and foremost, the people, the work ethic, and the strength of the community. We are focused on being able to deliver the change that people are looking for. We've got a plan, and we're proud of it. It's been built by the people of this province, and we're working very hard. We know we have to work hard, but we can deliver that change, and that's what we hope to do on Oct. 28."
Beck added that the Saskatchewan NDP team is running to serve the people of Saskatchewan and deliver the essential things that Saskatchewan people rely on, like rebuilding healthcare, investing in education, and addressing homelessness.
"I think it's going to take that same determination to rebuild the healthcare system that we see in our province right now, where the Saskatchewan party has taken us to last place when we look at wait times when we look at the number of healthcare workers who are leaving the province. This is a government that has ignored them and disrespected them, and it's the Saskatchewan people and our healthcare system that are paying the price. So that's one of the things we're focused on, not looking backwards, looking to improve what we know needs to be improved for Saskatchewan people," said Beck.
"Another place is education. People across this province understand how important it is for children to get the education they need. One of the first things people did when they came to Canada when they set up their homes and communities was to build a school to ensure their kids had an education. This is something we've always known was important in this province, but we have a government that has underfunded and cut education to the point where they've taken us to last place regarding per-pupil funding. But worse than that, our kids are paying the price. We know kids are waiting months, if not years, for support like speech and language pathology counsellors. Teachers have been dealing with large classes."
She added that they plan to undo the damage that a decade of cuts and underfunding by the Saskatchewan Party did to the education and healthcare sectors in the province. They will start by working with and listening to the voices of frontline workers, who have been sounding their concerns to prevent a crisis that we are experiencing now, concerns the Saskatchewan Party ignored and made worse, she said.
Homelessness is another thing the Saskatchewan NDP would address if they win the majority, with Beck saying that 3,000 government housing units sit empty for years during a time when a lot of people are sleeping on the streets.
"It's getting cold out right now. It was freezing out last winter and the winter before. They've refused to make those suites available to Saskatchewan people, which not only is heartless, it also means that instead of collecting $200 million in rent and utilities on those units that we've already paid for, that we still need, they've opted to let them go empty, rather than making them available for people at a time when they need it, which, to me, is indefensible," said Beck.
"We've got a plan, within the first year, to deliver 500 of those units back into the provincial housing stock to alleviate some of the demand for housing in this province. To make them available to those needing assistance and provide affordable housing for people who need more affordable rent. We've got a plan with our Landlords and Renters Protection Act to limit rent increases. Saskatchewan, and again Saskatoon in particular, is seeing the highest rent inflation in the country yearly."
She added that housing is another area where the government failed to create low-cost housing units to keep up with the province's growth rate, like in urban areas like Saskatoon, where an across-the-board approach to housing is at the level people need, including single-detached homes, apartments, and condos, but also ensuring those working on minimum wage or low income have an affordable place to live.
"We must ensure that we've got an all-of-the-above strategy to ensure that our housing stock keeps pace with the population growth rate. And that's working with people in all areas of the housing sector to ensure we have the conditions for that to happen," said Beck.
Beck, a registered social worker who worked at a women's shelter and youth halfway house, said she wants to also address the cycle of mental health and addiction as people who struggle and are having a hard time get exacerbated when they find themselves living on the streets.
