“It’s past time for the NDP to support Canadians instead of supporting Trudeau.”
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In response to the federal NDP pulling out of its confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberals, Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck says “it’s about time.”
Speaking on Wednesday, Beck said she’s heard from people frustrated that the federal NDP have been “propping up the federal Liberal government.”
“A government that has failed to deliver results for Saskatchewan, be that on the cost of living, health care or the growing economy crisis during such a pivotal moment,” continued Beck.
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In March 2022, Singh and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached a deal that committed the Liberals to bringing forward NDP priorities, like national dental care and pharmacare, in return for NDP caucus support on key votes like budgets.
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Beck said she’s been talking to Singh for two years about the confidence-and-supply agreement, ever since she first became leader of the provincial party. “In terms of timing, I didn’t control that, I didn’t control when they entered into the agreement,” said Beck.
The Government of Saskatchewan said the announcement was “pretty meaningless” unless federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is willing to trigger an election.
“There is no indication that Mr. Singh is going to do that,” said the province in an emailed statement. “It’s past time for the NDP to support Canadians instead of supporting Trudeau.”
With the provincial election expected on or before Oct. 28, it remains to be seen what impact this will have on either the Saskatchewan Party or the provincial NDP. And while she knows there is a lot of frustration in the province directed east, Beck has her eyes on the home front.
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On Wednesday, she announced her commitment to expedite construction on an already proposed school east of Regina, the latest in a string of campaign announcements made over the past week.
“White City and Emerald Park are the only community in Saskatchewan over 5,000 population without a high school,” said Beck.
Beck said the Prairie Valley School Division (PVSD) has sought such a school for over a decade and with future subdivisions planned within the community, building the high school is top priority. She said she will commit to having shovels in the ground by the end of 2025 if she becomes premier.
In an emailed statement, Minister of Education Jeremy Cockrill emphasized that the new high school is “not even on the division’s top 3 priority list,” and took issue with the NDP’s plan to fast track construction of the project.
Cockrill also took aim at the NDP’s recent promise to increase funding for education by $2 billion, while also promising to freeze taxes. Within the Ministry of Education’s budget, he said there are more than “28 major capital projects currently underway or in the planning stages” in the province already.
“It’s worth noting that when the NDP made their tax freeze commitment last week, education property taxes were conspicuously left off the list,” Cockrill said in the statement. “The NDP would have to nearly double education property taxes to pay for today’s commitment.”
The Saskatchewan NDP countered that claim, saying “we will not raise taxes. Period. That includes education property taxes.”
“This is just another desperate lie from a Sask. Party government that raised the PST and expanded it,” said a statement provided by the NDP on Wednesday afternoon.
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