REGINA - The campaigns of the major parties wasted no time getting off the ground in the three Regina and area ridings where provincial byelections are being held on August 10.
Premier Scott Moe called the byelections on Thursday morning to fill vacant seats in Regina Walsh Acres, Regina Coronation Park and in Lumsden-Morse located just northwest of the city.
The Sask Party held a launch event at their office In Northwest Regina, with Moe flanked by three candidates: Nevin Markwart of Regina Walsh Acres, Riaz Ahmad of Regina Coronation Park and Blaine McLeod of Lumsden-Morse.
During his remarks Moe pledged his party would run on its record, running on a message of growth and attracting investment so they could invest in services for Saskatchewan people.
“Today, Saskatchewan is growing at its fastest pace in over a century,” Moe said. “We led the country in economic growth last year and we’re projected again to do so in 2023, and again in 2024. There is record investment that is landing in communities across this great province. There are more people living in Saskatchewan than ever before. There are more people that are working in Saskatchewan than ever before, and just last week the number of people working in our province hit an all-time high.”
Premier Moe pointed to new healthcare facilities, including the new Urgent Care Centre being built on Albert Street, as well as SaskTel upgrades and highway work.
But the Sask Party also went on the attack. Campaign workers handed out to the media a list of about half a dozen past statements made by NDP nominee in Walsh Acres, Jared Clarke, in support of the carbon tax.
“My take on the carbon tax and climate change from here is Saskatchewan (Spoiler: I am in favor…)” Clarke was quoted as stating on Twitter in 2016. He was also quoted as saying on Twitter in 2018: “A carbon tax that is well designed will be returned to all people make less than a certain $ value each year… So it doesn’t cost you anything.”
“That is simply isn’t true,” Moe retorted, saying “It is a policy that directly is impacting our inflationary pressures in this province and in this nation. Our gas is higher because of a carbon tax. Our groceries are higher because of a carbon tax and our power bills are also higher because of a carbon tax.”
He characterized the NDP having a “record of economic stagnation” and of supporting “policies such as the Trudeau carbon tax.” He said he expected the NDP to “run away from their record and standing up for Justin Trudeau, and Jagmeet Singh and their policies.”
Flanked by both Walsh Acres candidate Clarke and by Coronation Park NDP candidate Noor Burki, NDP leader Carla Beck launched her party’s byelection campaign on the steps of the legislature in the afternoon, saying that after 17 years “it’s time for the Sask Party to own their own record.”
The New Democrats also brought heat of their own on the first day. Beck spent most of her time roasting the Sask Party over reports of a $11.6 million settlement of a lawsuit with Brandt Properties Ltd. over a proposed four-storey building in Wascana Park that would have hosted the Canadian National Institute for the Blind — a project that ultimately did not go ahead.
“Just yesterday we learned that Saskatchewan taxpayers will be on the hook for almost $12 million in public money,” said Beck, who went on to rip the government over a non-disclosure agreement that was part of the reported settlement.
“… Despite picking up the tab, Saskatchewan people will be left in the dark about the sweetheart deal Scott Moe and the Sask Party signed with one of their largest corporate donors. No accountability, no transparency, but yet more proof that this is a government more interested in their own self interest than the people that they serve. And we say that enough is enough.”
When asked about the settlement deal by reporters earlier, Premier Moe said there was work done by the Ministry of Justice towards an out of court settlement and that the ministry “would do that with anyone that is coming forward with a settlement… is to look for a settlement of that type.”
“What I would say is that there will not be a building in that location in the park. And I would say that the government is working with CNIB as they were a tenant of the previous building prior to the demolition of the building that was there. So the government is working with CNIB on a long-term permanent location for that very important, community-based organization that offers a very important service to so many…”
Moe was also asked about the length of time it took to call the three byelections, with the call coming right at the deadline for when at least one of the byelections were required to be called by legislation. The Coronation Park seat had been vacant since February when MLA Mark Docherty had resigned, while Lumsden-Morse had been vacant since March when Lyle Stewart resigned for health reasons.
In his response Moe alluded to the sad circumstances behind at least one of the vacancies created: the passing in late March of Regina Walsh Acres MLA Derek Meyers.
“Ultimately, the third of those seats came about by the death of our friend and colleague Derek Meyers. Most certainly, we needed some time, I imagine all the parties needed some time and I would expect that all parties would run candidates in any seat that’s available… we needed some time ultimately to go though the candidate selection process, have those candidates in place, and have them comfortable in going out and doing all the things that they need to do in the lead up to the campaign.”
“I don’t think it’s lost on many people that they waited until almost the very last minute, the last hour to call these byelections," was the response from Beck when she was asked about the timing of the byelection call.
“Again, this is a pattern we’ve seen from this government. We do think that representation matters. We do think it matters for people to have a representative in this building talking about the things that concern them in their lives.”
