REGINA - The New Democrats are blasting the Sask Party government for “silence” on news of the pause of Federated Co-operatives Ltd. renewable diesel facility and joint venture canola crush plant projects.
At a news conference at the Legislature Monday, Opposition Leader Carla Beck accused the government of having lost lost “billions of dollars in value-added investments,” and further accused the government of being “in hiding.”
She pointed to the FCL announcement coming soon after the federal government cleared the way for the Bunge-Viterra merger to happen.
“News that the FCL, the Federated Co-op, is indefinitely pausing its renewable diesel facility and joint venture canola crush plant with AGT came just days after the announcement of the Bunge-Viterra merger which put the future of the Viterra canola crush plant in jeopardy,” said Beck.
“We're talking about billions, billions of dollars in lost investment and economic activity, but we see the Sask Party is nowhere to be found on these issues. The Sask Party, who are the first, the very first to show up when it's time to pick up the golden shovels for a photo-op, we see them nowhere to be found on this issue.”
Beck added that what they continue to hear from producers is “very grave concerns” about what this means to producers and to the economy in Saskatchewan and especially in Regina. She pointed in particular to the uncertainty created by to the Bunge-Viterra merger as well as the FCL pause announcement.
Beck, who was flanked by Opposition critics Trent Wotherspoon and Aleana Young. further accused the Moe government of placing “the profits of out-of-province international companies” over the livelihoods of Saskatchewan producers.
She said that the province’s leaders “should never be silent” about mergers that will cost producers $800 million, or about a $4.5 billion hit to Saskatchewan's economic potential.
“Scott Moe had a lot to say when these projects were announced. We've heard nothing from him. I think that that silence speaks volumes and certainly underscores that this is a government that has taken rural people and producers in particular for granted.”
When asked what the NDP wanted to see to help move the FCL project forward, Beck pointed to her party’s own proposal to cut the PST for construction on value-added projects.
“So there's just one example of things that could be done to signal that this value-added production is important, but also to attract that investment,” said Beck. She also pointed to an “all of the above across the board” approach to job creation and to energy needs, and working with producers to get best value from existing resources, and use “that Saskatchewan superpower that we see everywhere” in innovation, integrating, and working together.
“As I said, there is incredible opportunity in this province, (and) continue to believe that. We have a government that is simply taking things for granted and really hasn't worked with industry to ensure that we're making good, not just on the groundbreaking, but actually seeing these plans to fruition.”
When asked for a response to the NDP’s news conference, the government provided this statement:
“While we are disappointed to hear about FCL’s decision to pause their investment into the Integrated Agriculture Complex, we respect the decision and remain optimistic it will move forward in the future.”
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