The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party officially released its 2024 election platform Friday morning in Saskatoon.
Leader Carla Beck unveiled the document at a media event on Friday morning along the riverbank in Saskatoon.
Another major focus of the NDP’s platform is affordability. If elected, the party says it will cut the provincial sales tax (PST) on its first day in office, removing it from children’s clothing and all groceries.
Beck said her party believes people need relief.
“We know that you need a break now, not next year,” she said.
She once again pledged that if elected, her government would not raise taxes.
Beck said providing cost of living relief is one of her top priorities, along with making improvements to the health-care system. She stressed people in the province are in need of immediate help.
“People need relief right away,” she said.
On the health-care front Beck said an NDP government would work to help health-care workers who have been trained in foreign countries access the classes they need in order to practice in Saskatchewan.
An NDP government would also look at providing more opportunities for workers to upgrade their skills so they can deliver more services to patients, she added.
“We’ve heard this from SARM (the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities) and SUMA (the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association), to have more training for nurse practitioners,” she said.
On the housing shortage, Beck said her party’s platform offers solutions to get more homes built. She criticized the Saskatchewan Party for adding PST to construction labour and said an NDP government would work to spur more building.
“We’ve got measures to start to reverse some of that damage, encourage more construction, encourage a construction labour force in Saskatchewan,” she said.
The party platform also pledges support for renters, promising to place limits on the size and frequency of rent increases. Beck said Saskatchewan has recently seen the highest rate of rent inflation in Canada, which affects many residents of the province.
“People are finding themselves homeless or having to move because they simply can’t afford the rent,” she said.
To reduce homelessness, Beck said an NDP government would reverse changes made to the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program that resulted in social services clients receiving money directly rather the ministry paying their landlords. Some municipal leaders have blamed this change for rising numbers of people experiencing homelessness.
Beck said the housing stock also needs to be diverse to meet a wide range of needs, including affordable and supportive housing.
“We need to ensure that we are building homes and have homes available across the spectrum,” she said.
The costed platform, which Beck called “fiscally responsible,” anticipates a budget deficit of $163 million in 2025-26, which would gradually decrease until returning to surplus in 2028-29.
The NDP has previously laid out $58.3 million in spending cuts it would make if elected to form government. The party said its fiscal plan would cost $3.65 billion over the next four years, and that this new spending is within projected revenue growth in the province.
Beck said her party’s plan does not rely on unusual economic growth to achieve its goals.
“We’ve taken a very modest measure of growth across the revenue line in this province,” she said.
In a media release responding to the release of the NDP platform the Sask. Party criticized the party for reversing expenses and revenues and projecting a budget surplus when the numbers in the document show a deficit.
The Sask. Party platform has yet to be publicly costed.
Editors Note: This story was amended to add the response from the Sask. Party.
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