Rent control and Saskatchewan Hospital were two topics on the mind of the leader of the opposition during a recent stop in the Battlefords.
NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter was in North Battleford for an event at the Battlefords Wildlife Federation June 15 along with Battlefords MLA Len Taylor.
The two met the media in the afternoon and Lingenfelter and Taylor also met with area teachers before going on to the evening event. Among the activities at that gathering was a "cake auction" to help raise money for the party.
Despite competition from game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals on TV, the event saw a decent turnout of local NDP party members there to support the party and meet the leader.
The visit is just one part of Lingenfelter's summer tour in advance of the fall 2011 election. He was in Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and Yorkton in previous days getting the pulse of the public.
He says people are feeling they are not getting their fair share. While the government itself is doing well with revenue, $11 billion in the past year, "people are saying 'my family is suffering,'" Lingenfelter said. "We're hearing that more and more and I think we need a New Democratic government to rectify that."
Lingenfelter's visit to the Battlefords follows on the heels of Premier Brad Wall's visit to the area the previous week, where he spoke at the Students Hall of Fame dinner and toured Saskatchewan Hospital.
Wall's hospital tour did not impress either Lingenfelter or Taylor greatly, with both citing a lack of action on replacing the 100-year-old facility.
Taylor referred to the premier's comment after that tour that there was a "compelling case" for replacement.
"That compelling case was there four years ago," said Taylor.
Lingenfelter said residents were disappointed the premier chose now to come and talk about Saskatchewan Hospital, and called the timing of Wall's recent visit "high politics by the premier."
"This is very highly political for the premier to ignore this issue for almost four years and then come here, on his deathbed repentance, and say 'look, I'm now interested.'"
Lingenfelter said had they followed the initial design announced when Len Taylor was health minister in 2006, "the hospital would be built now and we would actually be up here doing the opening."
Taylor pointed his finger at the premier for holding up the project, saying Health Minister Don McMorris admitted in committee the project was a priority of both Prairie North Health Region and the Ministry of Health.
"The problem has been at the cabinet table and it's the premier's responsibility to move projects through the cabinet. This has been a project that the health minister has acknowledged has been held up by the premier," said Taylor, who said the premier should have been in the Battlefords four years ago.
Taylor did call the premier's visit good news - "better late than never," he said - but the Battlefords MLA said it was critical for funding to be approved so that Prairie North can move itto the next phase. If additional dollars can be committed before the election, Taylor said he wants those brought forward.
"Don't wait for the election, don't make it a campaign promise, just do the right thing and bring the money forward and let's move this project forward," said Taylor. He adds he then wants to see a complete four- and five-year plan in next year's budget where all the funding can be committed on the project.
Lingenfelter said a new Saskatchewan Hospital would be "the highest of priority" and his party would move it to design and then construction immediately after taking office.
Another topic of importance to the NDP has been rent control, with Lingenfelter continuing to hammer the government on the issue of rent increases.
Taylor pointed to rental market figures from Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation showing average rent increases from April 2010 to April 2011 went up 10.3 per cent, the highest among the nine cities surveyed in the province. For the same period the previous year, the increase was 10.9 per cent.
Taylor also pointed to the CMHC stating in its report that North Battleford recorded the largest year over year increase in two bedroom rents among Saskatchewan cities, up 11 per cent from 2010.
"These are startling numbers," said Taylor. "To see it brought forward by CMHC does tell us that if we don't do something different this is going to continue."
Taylor also expressed concern about the lack of rental accommodation and few alternatives for those with fixed incomes.
Lingenfelter repeated his call to put programs in place to build more affordable housing, and to institute rent control in the province.
"Leaving it wide open to the private sector to set the rates isn't working," said Lingenfelter, who noted 80 per cent of the country operates under rent control and have that protection in place.
Lingenfelter also disputed the notion that rent control would put an end to apartment construction. He pointed to 800 new rental units built in Winnipeg last year, with Manitoba operating under rent control, while only 300 new rental units were built in all of Saskatchewan.
