Sask. Party leadership candidate Wyant to focus on economy, education, mental health

For Saskatchewan Party leadership candidate Gord Wyant, his main focuses are the economy, education, and tackling mental health and addictions, all while staying in the political centre.

Wyant was in Tisdale Dec. 18, touring the Carrot River Valley constituency with MLA Fred Bradshaw. He said one of the main things he’s been hearing during his travels is the need to grow the economy and provide more jobs.

“We have to look at what this new economy is going to look like in terms of making sure we have people that are trained to fill the jobs we’re going to need in the economy,” he said.

The leadership candidate said the province needs to look at tax and other incentives that encourage people from both inside and outside the province to invest in Saskatchewan. He added the resource sector continues to be important and that there’s a need to build strategies to ensure the province continues to benefit from it.

In terms of agriculture, Wyant said there’s a need to further invest in plant research at the universities to encourage more diversification and make sure the province’s products can get to market.

To train people to meet the needs of the economy, Wyant said he’s also focusing on education.

“We have to start thinking about education not in terms of what it costs, but what it is in terms of an investment.”

He said teachers are facing new challenges they didn’t face five years ago and that they need to be resourced properly. He’d also like to see a review of the province’s education sector strategic plan.

Wyant said he’s also been talking a lot about mental health and addictions, something that directly or indirectly affects most people in the province.

“If we want to improve outcomes, if we want to improve productivity within our economy, I think we have to spend some more time and resources in tacking mental health issues,” he said. “We don’t invest as much in mental health and addictions as other provinces do and I think in terms of making that investment, that’s important.”

Wyant said five per cent of the health budget goes towards those issues, while seven per cent is the national average. He said he wants to see the province reach that number – while making smart investments that help solve the problem.

The leadership candidate said if he was elected by Sask. Party members, the key to winning the next election is serving as a free enterprise, common sense alternative to the New Democrats.

“I think the path to victory for our government is making sure that we can keep our coalition together: rural and urban, left and right, liberal and conservative,” he said.

“We need to be very, very strong in terms of ensuring we keep that coalition strong. If we lose the coalition, if the party drifts one way or the other, we lose the centre, then I think we’re going to have some challenges in regards to our electoral success.”