WEYBURN - Business owner Rose McInnes of Weyburn will be the candidate for the new Sask. United Party in the Weyburn-Bengough riding, in the provincial election this fall.
This is her first foray into politics, after having her interest raised by hearing party leader Jon Hromek when he held a town hall meeting in Weyburn recently.
The interest was further sparked by the rise of the wind turbine issue in the Weyburn area, and when she was asked about running, she agreed to put her name in.
“When I heard Jon Hromek speak, I aligned with everything that he spoke about, and I felt there needed to be a candidate for Weyburn-Bengough that will represent the constituents interests,” said McInnes.
She noted she was impressed with Hromek’s integrity and authenticity, demonstrated as the owner of an oil and gas company. The leader described how during COVID he was the first one to take a hit when he asked employees to take a cut in wages in order to keep working.
“That’s how I ran my business, as during COVID I made sure my staff were looked after and had support,” she said.
She also resonated with the issues that the leader raised, such as about health care and education.
“If we’re low on doctors or nurses or psychiatrists or counsellors, as a party we should be subsidizing people to fill those positions by paying their tuition or locking them into the province so we can have the professionals we need to help fill the needs,” she said.
Affordability is another issue she wants to talk to people about, as the party has plans to remove the gas tax and cut the PST in half, along with cutting government expenses.
“I was an avid Sask Party voter, but as of late, I didn’t know if was even going to vote,” said McInnes.
The wind turbine issue will also be part of her campaign, as an RM resident who will be impacted by the Enbridge project if it becomes a reality in the RMs of Weyburn and Griffin.
One of the things she wants to do is draw up a legal petition against the project that can be taken to the Legislature. There is an online petition that the group of residents from the RMs have been gathering names for, but she doesn’t believe it could be taken to the Legislature to be presented to the government.
As a novice in politics, McInnes acknowledged she will need help, and notes she has a team of knowledgeable people she can rely on, along with a team to help her get ready for the campaign once it officially starts this fall.
