REGINA - An emergency motion by the NDP to suspend the 15 cent a litre gas tax went down swiftly in the Legislature Tuesday.
Opposition Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon tried to bring the motion to the floor of the Assembly on the first day of debate. But Wotherspoon needed unanimous consent for that to happen, and the government side promptly voiced their disapproval, stopping the effort in its tracks.
Soon after, Wotherspoon posted a video on social media where he said “this Sask Party government hasn’t changed at all. They shut down debate. They failed to support the motion. They’re continuing to cost families more at a time they need support.”
Opposition Leader Carla Beck voiced her dismay to reporters at the Legislature.
“This was their choice to vote down even the ability to discuss this emergency motion, something that, again, would have seen Saskatchewan people paying 15 cents less a litre at the pumps tomorrow,” Beck said.
“Something that we heard time and time again on the doorstep, that people are looking for some real tangible relief in a hurry in this province. You know, as I said today, this is a government that says that they understand the challenges that Saskatchewan people are facing, that understood the need for some changes, but we saw them, again, do as they've done for the last two years, and that is vote against that relief for Saskatchewan people.”
Premier Scott Moe explained his party’s rationale for opposing the gas tax suspension, pointing instead to the affordability measures his party had proposed during the election campaign.
“Well, we campaigned on a suite of affordability measures, including the largest income tax reduction, provincial income tax reduction, since 2008, one that will remove another 55,000 people from the tax rolls,” Moe told reporters. “And so what we are very much focused on today and through this session is to deliver on the commitments that we had put before the Saskatchewan people, and those are commitments that we were elected on. And so we're going to stay focused on that.”
Premier Moe added that there were “opportunities for us to work with the opposition on certain things,” pointing to the federal carbon tax set to go up from 17 cents up to 21 cents in the spring.
“That should not happen. In a challenging cost-of-living environment that Canadians and Saskatchewan families are experiencing today, we should work together to ensure and advocate and work with the federal government, which is supported by the NDP, that that doesn't happen.”
The NDP had been critical of the Sask Party affordability measures for not providing immediate relief, but Moe indicated the relief could come sooner rather than later.
When asked when the province’s income tax cut could come into effect, Moe said it “could be as early as January, and we're trying to work with the federal government because they have some formularies that will have to go to employers so that they can inform employers to start reducing it on employees' checks as soon as possible. So it is immediate relief, basically.”
In speaking to reporters, Beck justified suspending the gas tax because it provided immediate affordability relief for those that need it.
“The urgency has only grown and grown and grown. We continue to see people who are losing their houses to mortgage arrears. We continue to see people who, again, are selling off assets, people who are opting to not pay for their medications in favour of putting food on their table or paying their rent. There seems to be some lack of urgency on the part of the provincial government, very slow to even acknowledge that there was an issue. And again, in the House today, we heard the Premier say, 'well, it's the most affordable province in the country.' That is not what we're hearing from Saskatchewan people who, again, number one issue on the doorstep was ‘I need relief. I need it now. I'm facing impossible decisions.’ That's why we've been pushing so hard for this measure.”
