REGINA, Sask. — As has been the case for a while now, trade and tariff concerns have dominated the week in Saskatchewan politics.
This week, the concerns hit Saskatchewan directly concerning one of its major exports: potash. The province was rocked by a social media post from President Donald Trump claiming he was about to do a deal with Belarus for potash.
On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social that the “United States is working on a massive Deal with respect to the purchase of potash from Belarus. The pricing would be for substantially less than what we are currently paying to Canada, very good news for our farmers and ranchers."
That drew a particularly strong reaction on social media from Premier Scott Moe.
"Buying blood potash from Belarus is supporting Russian aggression,” he posted. “It’s wrong and it doesn’t make sense… Does anyone believe Belarusian blood potash shipped through Russia is going to be more affordable, more sustainable or more ethical than potash shipped from Saskatchewan — right here in North America?"
No sooner had the issue erupted than it went away.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the United Nations, Trump reversed course and indicated the United States would still buy potash from Canada. Appearing on CBC’s Power & Politics later that day, Moe expressed relief by saying buying potash from Belarus was “never realistic.”
For her part, Opposition Leader Carla Beck welcomed the stronger tone from the premier this week on the potash issue.
In a one-on-one interview with SaskToday, Beck said her party had been “pretty clear” that the “path that the Premier has been taking up until now, suggesting that closer relations or utilizing friendships with Americans, which do exist, is enough. It simply hasn't worked.”
Beck said that “firmness, that clearness, that resolve is what we all need to show in this country right now… We need to continue to be firm and strong while we busily diversify trade markets and build that trade infrastructure. The only way that we're going to get through this is together. You don't hear me say this often, but I thought that that was an important statement that the Premier made, and we need to see more of that strong firmness.”
The potash controversy emanating from the White House upstaged some other focuses of Premier Moe this week, particularly one highlighting the oil and gas sector.
On Monday, Moe had been in the Meota area for a ribbon-cutting for Strathcona Resources’ new thermal oil facility, Meota Central. According to the company’s news release, Meota Central will add 12,000 barrels per day of production and marks a significant milestone as its first end-to-end development project.
Other provincial officials on hand for the opening ceremonies were Energy and Resources Minister Chris Beaudry, Environment Minister Darlene Rowden, Health Minister and The Battlefords MLA Jeremy Cockrill, Cut Knife-Turtleford MLA James Thorsteinson and Lloydminster MLA Colleen Young.
On Friday, potash was back in the news, but for more positive reasons.
Premier Moe was in British Columbia at the Port of Vancouver for the groundbreaking of Canpotex’s new $500-million project at the Neptune Bulk Terminals. The project is aimed at replacing and refurbishing equipment there to bolster Saskatchewan's supply chain for potash exports, according to a government news release.
NDP focuses on multiple issues throughout the week, including health care, agriculture concerns
Meanwhile, the Opposition New Democrats were back to focusing this week on a number of familiar issues, including more health-care woes in Saskatchewan facilities.
On Monday, the party highlighted the plight of 72-year-old patient Edward Guenther, who in a social media post was pictured left on the floor at Royal University Hospital for two hours due to a lack of beds.
Associate health critic Keith Jorgenson slammed the government over the situation.
“Every single piece of evidence points to health care being in worse shape than ever. Still, despite this, the Sask. Party claims to have a plan to put patients first. Tell that to Edward Guenther and his family,” he said in a statement.
On Friday, the party was calling for a full investigation and public release of findings concerning the death of Chelsea Bear, who died after delivering a stillborn baby in hospital in Saskatoon. Beck said the death of Bear and “disturbing allegations” about her care warranted a full investigation and public release of findings and recommendations for improvement.
“The Scott Moe government has failed this family, they have failed the people of this province, and they have failed to honour and protect the Treaty right to health,” Beck said.
Education funding was also back in the news. The NDP slammed the government this week after the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation released figures showing education funding had been cut by nearly $1,500 per student in the past decade.
“What I hear time and time again is that the people in our schools are doing everything they can,” leader Beck said in a statement in response.
“They are working incredibly hard, but the odds are being stacked too high against them. Against our kids. That has to change. Really, we only get one shot at this.”
The other issue the NDP focused on heavily this week was agriculture, with finance critic Trent Wotherspoon announcing a five-point action plan to provide immediate financial relief to farmers dealing with a delayed harvest.
That announcement came following the recently released crop report that showed just 32 per cent of the crop had been harvested, well below the five-year average of 71 per cent.
In response to the NDP, Agriculture Minister David Marit met reporters at the legislature this week, where he said the government was not looking at doing anything different.
“We've got a good suite of programs. We've got an excellent suite of programs for crop insurance, things like that,” said Marit, who also pointed to changes to AgriStability raising it to 75 per cent for their estimated final payout. He said their “suite of programs for the Ag community are very well compensated.”
