ESTEVAN - Newly-elected Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck put a visit to southeast Saskatchewan on top of her priorities.
Just three days into the new role and on the first day of the Official Leader's Tour, Beck made her way from Regina to Estevan, with a stop in Stoughton and then to the Roche Percée area.
The official opposition leader was joined by agriculture critic Trent Wotherspoon and economy and jobs critic Aleana Young.
The Mercury talked to Beck about her previous and recent experiences in the southeast as well as her near-future plans.
"We were meeting with a bunch of ranchers down just south of Roche Percée [on Wednesday]. People were happy to chat and talk about their industry and how they're taking care of their cattle. We learned a lot, we got to have some great conversations. And that's really been the response that we've had right through the leadership and we hope it continues as we're on the road," Beck shared.
At a ranch near Roche Percée, Beck, Young and Wotherspoon branded cattle and witnessed best practices of livestock care at the invitation of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association.
Beck is not a stranger to the farm lifestyle and the southeast. She grew up on a mixed farm, and cattle branding was something they've done every spring before taking cows out to pastures. And the place itself meant a lot to her.
"It was great to get out there and talk with people. One of the ranchers there is someone that I grew up with, and my brother went to school with. There's a lot of connection here," Beck said.
"A theme that we've talked about a lot is if you are not working from divisions and connecting with people on those shared values, the love of this province and the land and the work that they're doing. And we found a lot of that connection [on Wednesday] and throughout the leadership campaign, and I'm sure we will, as we get around the province."
Beck noted that meeting and connecting with people in the province was a priority, which they outlined in the campaign.
"The first priority for us is to really signal that this work of connecting with people, understanding their jobs, their livelihoods, their hopes, and the challenges that they're facing, that's a big priority,” said Beck.
“And we've said all the way through the leadership campaign, this is about inviting people in. It's about talking to them about the things that are important to them. And I really think that is an important first step before you start suggesting to people what's best for them, you need to be listening, and you need to be building those solutions with the people that are impacted the most by them.”
The party also started searching for some solutions that are of value to people in the southeast. Earlier this month, the Saskatchewan NDP co-wrote a letter, supporting livestock producers by calling on the federal government to scrap changes to beef and pork packaging.
"Livestock producers have a huge role to play in feeding Saskatchewan, caring for its world-renowned grasslands and sequestering carbon in the process. They deserve a government that works for them," said Beck. "The Saskatchewan NDP will continue to call on the federal government to halt their changes to beef packaging and to introduce fairness in protection for livestock producers by introducing federal and provincial cost-sharing for livestock business risk management programs."
Beck said she will be back in the southeast as soon as she can to catch up with local business owners, community leaders and residents. She also has a brother who lives in Carnduff and appreciates any opportunity to catch up with the family.
Beck capped off the first day of the tour with an address to celebrate the 60th anniversary of medicare in Prince Albert.
"Almost every day another hospital in another town sounds the alarm on service cuts and understaffing," said Beck. "We all deserve a Saskatchewan that lives up to its history as the birthplace of Medicare."
