Elected officials need to find solutions that go beyond blaming Carbon Tax says Beck
Emokhare Paul Anthony, Daily Herald
Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck said her party will continue to make food prices in the north a priority when the legislature resumes sitting next year.
MLAs headed back home on Dec. 7, but Beck said there is still a need for to address the high cost of living in the northern part of the province, where residents have been hit hard by the increase in basic food prices.
“They need to be able to access health care and have access to food,” Beck said,” We are not going to get there if that party continues to fall back into the same old talking points.”
Beck said another issue in the north is high prices in transportation and a suspension of the fuel tax is something that would help bring prices down in the north.
An NDP motion to suspend the provincial 15-cent-a-litre gas tax failed in the legislature on Nov. 27, with the Premier saying there are better ways to save people money.
“In 2024, in a province as wealthy as ours, to have people coming down with scurvy is not acceptable. I think we can all agree on that. We put forward a motion. The member from Cumberland, Jordan McPhail, brought that forward with an honest intent, to work on both sides of the aisle in the legislature to come up with some solutions for what, I think we should again all be able to agree, is something unacceptable…. Of course, the Sask. Party voted that motion down, but doesn’t mean we’re done talking about it.”
In December, the NDP presented photos showing northern residents were being charged $18.09 for a 4 L jug of mile, and $19.99 for a 907 g package of grapes.
When asked about their response to increasing food prices in the north, the provincial government issued a statement saying the carbon tax was “a main driver” of inflation on a number of items, including groceries. The province said removing the carbon tax would make life more affordable.
Beck said before the last sitting at the Legislature, Premier Scott Moe talked about hearing the message of change. She said the government’s response to food prices in the north shows the province is not interested in change.
“Is that (the carbon tax) contributing? There is likely a portion of that cost that is increased, but what are the other factors? What are the other things we can control here right now? We’ve stated repeatedly our opposition to the Carbon Tax, but it still, as elected leaders, falls on us to find solutions. We’ve been putting them forward,” she said.
Beck said voters tired of fighting, and want to see solutions. She said McPhail’s motion was a good faith attempt to give the issue of northern food prices the attention it deserved.
This past sitting at the Legislature saw the introduction of a number of new members. More than half of NDP MLAs sitting this fall were brand new to their roles. Beck said she was happy with how her new MLAs performed.
“l have high expectations of this team and am happy to say they exceeded expectations,” said Beck. “I have heard people who have watched some in action saying this is a team that hit the ground running.”
In a press release on Tuesday, the Premier said he the government knows affordability is “top of mind” for many Saskatchewan residents. Moe cited the introduction of the Saskatchewan Affordability Act and the SaskEnergy Amendment Act as ways the government was addressing the issue.
–with files from Jason Kerr and Valerie G. Barnes-Connell Jordan
