NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter and MLAs Trent Wotherspoon and Sandra Morin have been touring the province listening to concerns people have about the provincial government. They were recently in the Yorkton area to discuss a number of different issues.
In the past weeks, Lingenfelter had been making noise about having the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program improved. While the Wall government has since expanded the program, Lingenfelter believes yet more needs to be done.
"It's a first step, and I am glad that it is moving forward, but when I'm talking to people in Yorkton it's too slow, the payments to families are too slow, the assessment is too slow... The other thing is for renters who were renting basement suits, many of them were paying $250-300 a month. Now they have to look for new rental space, and much of it is $7-800, even $1,000 a month. Many families on fixed incomes can't afford that, so it isn't working as well as it needs to, to protect families here in Yorkton and across the province," Lingenfelter says.
Another issue Lingenfelter is concerned with is healthcare in the province, something he believes is being neglected by the Wall government.
"Whether it's in Wawota with the closure of long term care beds, or the Neilberg situation with the ambulance being cancelled, or in Kamsack today with the hospital potentially being closed, because the Wall government isn't providing doctors and recruitment, it's almost like the healthcare program in rural Saskatchewan is unraveling," Lingenfelter says.
Lingenfelter reiterated that he believes doctor recruitment should be a provincial responsibility rather than in the hands of municipalities. He also states that there should be a way to have more doctors available if one suddenly leaves, rather than have recruitment start after the position opens.
The NDP leader thinks there should be a way to encourage recent medical graduates from Saskatchewan universities to become doctors in the province. He notes the fact there are many incentives for foreign doctors, and says extending these to recent graduates could be incentive to keep them in the province.
Exploding rental rates is another issue which Lingenfelter says is a prime concern for the NDP. While he says he believes the private sector is a prime mover in keeping housing available, he believes that there is still a need for affordable housing that isn't being filled. He also says rent control is an issue which the NDP supports.
"I think it is incumbent on us to look at solutions which include a possibility of rent control, and good quality social housing," Lingenfelter says.
The NDP plan for rent control would require renters to provide reason for substantial increase, in order to prevent people from being exploited.
"It wouldn't stop rent from increasing, but it wouldn't be going up 40 per cent just because you didn't have an option of moving to another rental unit because there is zero per cent vacancy, which is happening in many Saskatchewan communities right now," Lingenfelter says.
There is also a need to get young people into home ownership, Lingenfelter says, and he believes first time home ownership is an attractive idea.
Finally, Lingenfelter believes Premier Brad Wall should ally with other premiers in order to get increased agriculture disaster funds, including $100 an acre for flooded and unseeded land. He says that since the rest of the country has bailed out the auto sector, he believes that premiers would get on board with increasing the amount.
