REGINA, Sask. — Opposition Leader Carla Beck and the NDP made it known they were left unimpressed by the Saskatchewan Party government’s latest Speech from the Throne.
“Today's Throne speech, frankly, fails to meet the moment we're in,” Beck said, flanked by her health critics Meara Conway and Jared Clarke.
“So I've got a pretty clear message for the people of this province. You don't have to settle for this anymore. You have a choice. Despite the premier constantly telling people how good they have it, right now, people in this province have some of the highest rates of economic and food insecurity. And shamefully, we have the highest rates of child poverty in the entire country.”
Beck also pointed to issues in health care and a growing debt.
“We deserve a government better than a government that refuses to take any responsibility for any of this. So I see nothing in today's Throne speech that will address those challenges that I've mentioned or the countless more that Saskatchewan people are facing. And frankly, this is a speech, a Throne speech, that reads like it's been written by a government who's been in power far too long. They're entitled, they're arrogant, they're out of touch.”
As one example, Beck said the government is “going to continue to ram through the data centre in Sherwood and they're going to do that without consultation, without answering even some of the basic questions.”
Beck said the AI data centre project was included in the throne speech for “the sole purpose of sowing more division and thumbing their noses at the thousands and thousands of Saskatchewan people who have been bringing forward reasonable questions about the process and the data centre itself. On this and so many issues, it seems like we've got a premier in Scott Moe who would rather have us keep quiet and just trust him.”
Conway said she “experienced an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu” listening to the throne speech. She pulled out past throne speeches in which the Sask Party used the “exact same wording” as she ridiculed the government’s latest pledges on its patient-first health care plan.
“I'll even quote from the 2007 Throne Speech. ‘My government is committed to conducting a patient-first review of the entire health care system.’
“And from 2008, ‘work will soon begin redesigning health care to better match the needs of patients. The vehicle for this goal will be the patient-first review.’ From 2009: ‘my government recently received the final report of the patient-first review.’ Does that sound familiar?”
As for the NDP's plans for the session, Beck said, “You're going to see us continue to put forward legislation at a breakneck pace.
“Proposals that we think will actually move the dial, actually improve the lives of Saskatchewan people. We're going to focus on the cost of living, on health care, and on ending the 20 years of corruption and scandal and waste that have been the hallmark of this government. We're going to continue to roll out our big, bold plan for health care, and we're going to start bringing attention again to the future of education in this province and what we need to do to set our kids up, that next generation up, for success. And we are going to continue to show the people of this province that they clearly do have a choice.”
