KAMSACK — A Kamsack man is running for the NDP nomination in the Canora-Pelly constituency.
Michael Woollard, a teacher, said he’s focusing on universal health care, affordability and education.
Woollard will compete against Wynn Fedorchuk for the nomination. The NDP has yet to set a date for the nomination meeting. The winner of the nomination will then be one of the names on the ballot for the provincial election, scheduled for Oct. 28, 2024.
The candidate said he’s concerned about the state of universal health care in general, and limited services and staff at the Kamsack Hospital in particular.
“I am the race now because I truly feel that if we do not act immediately we will see the first signs of a user pay system, already being installed, quickly widen until the cracks in the system become too big to fix just by placing a new government in place.”
For affordability, Woollard said his family ran a convenience store in Kamsack from 1977-98 and that in 1998, the wage paid to their employees was higher than today’s minimum wage.
“A good job deserves a good wage, one that a family can live off. When minimum wage goes up all wages increase,” he said, adding that small businesses must be supported with rebates based on hiring, that he’d like to repeal tax increases brought in by the Sask. Party government, and cap power rates.
In terms of education, Woollard said that in eight years, his school has gone from 13.5 teachers to 8.45, while having nearly the same amount of students and the same needs.
