It was a big spring session in the legislature for the opposition New Democrats, with a new leader and a new premier to face off against.
“[It’s been a] chance for us to really start to point out some of the challenges that this government has, and start to talk about some of the things we’d like to achieve,” said Ryan Meili, the NDP’s leader, during a conference call with rural media.
Issues the opposition have focused on this session were the government’s decision to not totally restore the $54 million cut to education from last year’s budget, a $5 million cut to a supplement to help low income renters and a $3 million cut to job training programs.
“One of the things that’s difficult to see is when governments are making decisions that are really hurting people and they’re not providing straight answers or really giving people an alternative,” Meili said.
The NDP has been asking questions about the lack of land sales for the Global Transportation Hub.
One victory the New Democrats claimed was the repeal of a law that allowed partial sale of crown corporations.
“The public pushed back hard on that and we were happy it was repealed once and for all,” said Meili.
The leader said his party has also proposed a law to ban unions and corporations from donating to political parties, increasing the minimum wage and advocating for action on a national pharmacare strategy.
Meili also answered many questions on a federally imposed carbon tax. He said the province is wasting an opportunity to build a made-in-Saskatchewan solution that meets the federal government’s requirements while protecting farmers and small oil and gas producers.
“The federal government is going to impose this and the fact that [Saskatchewan Premier] Scott Moe is allowing Trudeau to design that policy is reckless and irresponsible.”
