
Northern MLA and NDP Shadow Minister of Northern Affairs Jordan McPhail brought the reality of high food prices and 27 cases of scurvy to the attention of the Legislature during the first session of the 30th Legislature.
McPhail sought to bring an emergency motion with recommendations for improving “food security and health for Northerners,” McPhail said in an interview with the Daily Herald.
The motion called for the Standing Committee on Human Services to conduct an investigation into the rising price of food in Northern Saskatchewan and the impact of high food princes on the health of Northerners. It also called for the committee to provide recommendations on policies to improve food security and health in Northern Saskatchewan.
On Tuesday, Dec. 3, the government used their majority on the Committee to adjourn the meeting without acknowledging the intended motion.
“(On Wednesday) we decided to bring it forward on Rule 61 of the House, which allows us to bring a motion to the Floor, we were successful in bringing it to the floor … (and) again it was not granted, so it means the motion cannot be made,” McPhail said.
“The people of Saskatchewan send us to this Legislature to take action and bring forward solutions – not play petty politics…. This was an opportunity to get everyone around a table, from all sides, to fix a crisis. The fact that we’re dealing with scurvy in 2024 should be sending alarm bells down theses halls.”
McPhail said northern residents know what foods to eat to stay healthy. The problem is affordability, not a lack of education.
“My constituents – so many of whom are suffering — are desperate for relief,” McPhail said in a news release.
McPhail said they gave members of the committee advance notice of the motion with the understanding they would take it back to their Caucus table, discuss it, and plan how they wanted to vote on the matter in good faith. He was disappointed in their response.
He said prices in a northern community, like Stony Rapids, can rise to as high as $18.09 for a 4L jug of mil, and $19.99 for a 907g package of grapes.
McPhail is calling on the government to remove the PST on all grocery items and to call an investigation into food prices, which is more of an immediate to longer term solution.
“The Saskatchewan Government said that they heard that they needed change and they were going to deliver in the House and, certainly for me, in my first couple of weeks here; and I know I’m new to the role, but all I can say is, it really does seem and feel like the same old Sask Party,” McPhail said.
McPhail said he and other members of his team will continue searching for ways to bring the “crisis” situation to the floor for action.
The Daily Herald requested an interview with a representative from the provincial government, but no one was made available.
Instead, Government of Saskatchewan spokesperson Emma Long emailed a statement saying the province had already removed the PST from basic grocery items like meat, eggs, milk, and vegetables. Long said the carbon tax is “the main driver of inflation” and said the government had taken steps to remove it on items like home heating. She also said the province plans to invest in more highway infrastructure to make the supply chain to northern communities more reliable.