Saskatchewan Party Leaders Discuss the Economy, Health Care, and Policing in Debate

Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe and NDP Leader Carla Beck discussed health care, the economy, and policing in a televised provincial election debate in Regina on Oct. 16.

In her opening statement, Beck stated that she had a plan to make life more affordable and improve education and health care rankings.

Moe, leading the governing party since 2007, mentioned a plan focused on continued economic growth, job creation, and increasing the recruitment of teachers, doctors, nurses, and police officers.

Health Care

The initial question revolved around how each leader’s health plan was superior to their opponent’s plan.

Beck criticized the broken health system and expressed mistrust in Moe’s party to fix it. She emphasized the need for a comprehensive plan to recruit, retain, and train healthcare staff.

Moe highlighted increased spending on health care, emphasizing an ambitious health human resource plan, increased education of health workers, more surgeries, and the introduction of urgent care centers.

Beck pointed out long wait times and crowded emergency rooms, whereas Moe defended the current surgical wait times, stating they were lower than pre-2007 levels when the Sask. Party first took office.

Affordability

When asked about addressing rising costs in gas, groceries, and rent in their first year of government, Moe emphasized his platform’s focus on increasing benefits and lowering taxes to maintain the affordability of living in Saskatchewan.

Beck addressed resident complaints about tough budget choices and outlined her plan to cut fuel taxes and remove PST from groceries, children’s clothing, and implementing rent controls.

She noted that her plan offered more relief than Moe’s strategy.

Schools

On education, Beck criticized the lack of student-teacher ratio improvement under Moe’s leadership and committed her party to increase education spending by $2 billion over four years.

Moe defended his government’s 9% education funding increase, ongoing construction of 28 new schools, and highlighted school closures during the previous NDP era.

Economic Growth

Moe discussed the province’s economic focus on forestry, mining, and potash operations, highlighting wealth distribution across various regions, including rural and indigenous communities. He also mentioned economic initiatives like a new oriented strand board plant and online gambling through the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority.

Beck highlighted job losses outside major cities and promised to reverse the PST on construction and offer start-up loans for small businesses.

Both leaders outlined their strategies to address shrinking communities and declining farms.

Policing and Public Safety

On public safety, Moe proposed adding 500 recovery beds for addictions and 500 police officers, while Beck promised to hire 200 more officers.

The Saskatchewan election is scheduled for Oct. 28.