SASKATOON — The Saskatchewan Party has indicated it will continue to focus on what it has done for the province rather than engage its opponents in the usual rhetoric this election season. The provincial election is set for Monday, Oct. 28.
Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe challenged the Saskatchewan NDP to inform the provincial residents about the cost of their platform if they ever get the majority and the chance to form a government.
“We've seen over $3 billion promised thus far, and that will be growing. I believe they were in excess of $8 billion in the last campaign and unaccounted for costs, and unaccounted for in how they were actually going to pay for those costs,” said Moe,
“When you do look at it more broadly, there's three ways that you pay for those costs. One is you increase taxes, which they've done before. Two, is you grow your deficit, and three is you cancel projects like this.”
Moe was referring to the soon-to-be-built Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre, which broke ground on Wednesday, Sept. 19, behind the former Pleasant Hill School. The project is a collaboration between the Saskatchewan Government and the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation.
He added other projects, such as the renovation of St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon and the construction of schools in cities and other communities will also be affected.
“If their plan is to say nothing, that means they will deal with it in a year or two, and it will be cancelling projects just like this. We [Sask. Party] won't do that. We will bring forward a balanced plan that will represent the wishes of the Saskatchewan people,” said Moe.
“We'll be asking for the support of the Saskatchewan people in enacting that plan over the next four years, not an irresponsible plan that potentially, like the last time they had the opportunity, would lead to decline, loss, and closures.”
Donna Harpauer, who will not be seeking reelection, added they will continue to inform the people of what the government is doing for them.
“We are going to do, as a government, is re-announcing what we do for individuals here in Saskatchewan. Sometimes, people do not know what the government is doing. So, we will get the information out there,” Harpauer said.
She added that they remain optimistic about their chances and that the projected deficit of $80.6M will not be a problem as the province remains on track to a surplus for 2026-2026.
“We will see what the year end plans. The last two budgets were balanced, and there are projections for what will happen with the year. Do not confuse deficit with debt. Our debt is very controlled and measured. We have the lowest debt, we are second in Canada,” said Harpauer.
“That is very encouraging, and what it does is it allows us to borrow at a lesser rate than other provinces because we have little debt. I hope we will have some positive economic indicators to erase that deficit. We won’t know until the year ends because when you form a budget, you are projecting what’s going to happen in the next 12 months.”
