REGINA - NDP Leader Carla Beck was put on the defensive Tuesday after the Saskatchewan Party sent out a news release accusing an NDP candidate of misogynist and pro-drug music lyrics.
The Sask Party news release criticized Estevan-Big Muddy candidate Phil Smith, a musician who the Sask Party said “is known for misogynistic, pro-drugs and pro-crime lyrics.”
At her media event Tuesday morning in Regina, Beck responded to questions about it by bringing up some recent incidents involving the former Sask Party MLAs for Cut-Knife Turtleford Ryan Domotor, and Moose Jaw Wakamow’s Greg Lawrence.
“I wasn’t aware of that,” said Beck about the accusations, adding “song lyrics are one thing. Getting caught up in a sex trafficking sting, or having assault charges for choking or assault, those are another thing.”
Among the lyrics the Sask Party release pointed to was one from Smith's song Shoot U: “They’re wearing thongs and the guns are loaded. Aim it somewhere near where her throat is.”
The lyrics glorifying drugs included:
“Sipping wine, sniffing lines” from the song Spoiler Alert,
“You can always tell where they’re doing coke, inside the rooms you shouldn’t go. I will try and get there eventually,” from the song Never Say Never, and
“A tugboat with my drug load is bound to capsize,” from the song Go Bigger.
Other lyrics included even stronger language that those reprinted here.
“Either Carla Beck and the NDP completely failed to do basic vetting on Phil Smith or the NDP are comfortable with his misogynistic, pro-drugs and pro-crime lyrics,” the Sask Party release stated. “Carla Beck owes the people of Saskatchewan an answer.”
Beck made clear in her response that she thought there were other more important issues.
“We have critical health care services that are not available in the second largest city in the province. We had an emergency room in Saskatoon that three times over capacity. We have more healthcare workers leaving the province than any other province. There are people who aren’t getting the care that they need. It’s about time that we had a government that actually focused on the things that matter to Saskatchewan people and had a plan to fix it.”
When asked if the candidacy would be reviewed, Beck said this:
“When I look at what’s facing people in this province, when I look at the things that people care about, that people want, not just Scott Moe and I but all leaders in this province should be focused on, I’m not sure that it’s things that happen on social media or song lyrics. It’s probably that they want to get a doctor so they don’t see their loved ones die on a waitlist before they get healthcare. It may be being able to pay their bills put some presents under the tree for the kids or put gas in their tank to get to school, I mean, if that’s what he wants to focus on, he can fill his boots, but we’re focused on the things that Saskatchewan people need. We’re focused on the things that we can deliver for Saskatchewan people and putting that plan forward to be able hit the ground running on day one if we are given the privilege of forming government after October 28. Scott Moe can focus on that, we’re going to focus on the people of this province in delivering better because we know people in this province deserve better than what they’ve got that right now."
This is not the first time past activities have come back to haunt candidates in this election campaign. Last week, David Buckingham, running for the Sask Party in Saskatoon Westview, apologized after Speaker Randy Weekes accused him of using a racial epithet during a caucus meeting.
