For those searching for information on the values and intentions of the Saskatchewan NDP prior to the election, party leader Carla Beck has released her entire platform.
Beck says her priorities include implementing cost of living measures, fixing the healthcare crisis, reducing crime, investing in education and boosting the economy.
Focus points cover several commitments that have already been announced, such as a six-month suspension of the gas tax and removing the provincial sales tax from children’s clothing and numerous grocery items. Beck also vows to spend $1 billion and $2 billion over the next four years to get the province out of last place in healthcare and education, respectively.
When asked by reporters how she plans to invest in both healthcare and education, all while cutting various taxes, she replied that the money will come from a boosted economy. For those who are skeptical of her plan, Beck says she understands why.
“People in this province have grown cynical after 17 years of the Sask Party’s record saying one thing during an election or at budget time, only to find that those promises aren’t realized afterwards,” she explains.
Those in rural areas aren’t getting left out. Farmers can expect expanded rural cellphone and broadband internet services, a grant program to improve rinks and halls, and a process to “crack down” on illegal foreign farmland ownership.
By the end of her potential forth year in power, Beck says Saskatchewan would be operating at a $57.1 million surplus, following three years of lessening deficits.
“It’s a plan that invests in the things people in this province care most about. It’s a plan to get us back to balance. It’s a plan to restore that fiscal responsibility that, as I said, has been lacking.”
She adds that her plan would deliver the average family of four, two times the financial relief compared to Scott Moe’s plan.