SASKATOON – One day after Saskatchewan NDP Leader Cam Broten introduced his party’s full platform, Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall took aim at the NDP’s budgeting. Wall said the promise would cost hundreds of millions of dollars not disclosed in the NDP’s platform.
When asked by reporters why the NDP’s utility rate bundle wasn’t costed out in the party platform, Broten said “It’s not in the platform because it’s being delivered through the Crowns.”
Sask Party officials said all Crown corporation profits must be accounted for in a provincial budget and slashing utility rates would impact profits. The party said the NDP’s plan would cost $595 million over four years.
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“This speaks to competence. This speaks to a basic understanding of how we do budgeting in Saskatchewan,” Wall said.
NDP officials said cutting waste and improving efficiency in the Crowns would create savings to lower utility rates.
Broten said he’s waiting to see how much Wall’s party has budgeted to cover losses from the SaskPower carbon capture project at Boundary Dam and the impact of malfunctioning smart meters.
Broten made his comments Friday at TCU Place in Saskatoon, where he pledged to give seniors the option to defer their property taxes through a loan from the Saskatchewan government.
“The low-interest loan that covers these amounts only needs to be repaid when the home is sold,” Broten said.
Wall spoke at the site of the future North Commuter Parkway, where he announced the Sask Party’s plans to invest $1.7 billion in infrastructure in the 2016-17 budget.
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