SASKATOON — The Saskatchewan NDP continues to pressure the Saskatchewan Party-led government, demanding that it develop an immediate plan to rebuild northern communities devastated by wildfires, while also criticizing its spending and failure to balance the budget in a way that would benefit the province in the future.
The NDP, through consultations with leaders and residents across northern communities, identified five key areas the government needs to address immediately, according to their media release issued Wednesday. These include the urgent restoration of access to health care and essential services, as well as providing medium-term housing for people who have lost their homes until they can rebuild.
Also included are housing for construction workers tasked with rebuilding isolated communities like Denare Beach and East Trout Lake, proper and fair procedures for demolition and safe disposal of property destroyed by fire, and immediate assistance from Crown corporations to help rebuild utility services — power, phone and internet lines.
Opposition Leader Carla Beck and Cumberland 小蓝视频 Jordan McPhail, in a press availability in Prince Albert on Wednesday said they had received reports of residents sleeping in their cars and tents after their homes and businesses burned down. Most are also in debt for food and accommodation, as they have not yet received the financial aid the government has released.
“Rebuilding Denare Beach, East Trout Lake and other affected areas won’t happen by accident. We need a clear, co-ordinated plan, not just for reconstruction, but also for helping people live with dignity while that work is 小蓝视频 done. The people we've spoken to have felt abandoned and betrayed from the start of this crisis. They deserve so much better from their government. We need a government that is focused on the future, on rebuilding the North, on protecting it for the future and ensuring such a horrific crisis and complete government failure never happens again,” said Beck.
McPhail, the shadow minister for northern affairs, added that he believes many of his constituents will never forgive the Saskatchewan Party government for what happened in the last month since the wildfires started. However, he believes that supporting them as they rebuild their lives is a step in the right direction.
“Frankly, a proper plan to rebuild the North should already be developed and in place. People have waited so long to return to their communities, and what many have found awaiting them is even more confusion and frustration. This is unacceptable. We are calling on the Sask. Party to do its job immediately or step aside so we can put a new government in place that cares about the people of this province,” said McPhail.
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In a separate media event in Regina, NDP finance critic Trent Wotherspoon said the government has overspent almost $1 billion but failed to address health care, affordability, economic growth, drug problems and the homelessness crisis — issues the NDP raised against the Saskatchewan Party during the campaign last year.
Wotherspoon said the government’s claim of finishing the budget near its forecasts is “nothing but another misleading statement to the people of Saskatchewan.” The government released a fiscal update on June 30, showing that despite receiving $400 million in unexpected funding through a national lawsuit settlement with tobacco companies, it still failed to balance the budget, posting a $249-million deficit.
“The Sask. Party is failing to manage our finances and failing the people of this province on every front. A billion dollars in additional spending and nothing to show for it — our health care is last in the country and families here report higher financial anxiety than anywhere else in Canada,” said Wotherspoon.
He added that funding from the national lawsuit settlement with tobacco companies will be lower in the coming years, which could jeopardize the province’s fiscal outlook more than the government is reporting.
“In Saskatoon, we see a record number of drug overdose deaths, and we’re facing a housing crisis in that city, here in Regina and right across much of Saskatchewan, for that matter. Under Scott Moe, our economic growth is among the lowest in the country, and all the while this government has nearly doubled the debt while piling on an additional $16 billion,” he said.
