Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe’s transition to the premier’s office has been in full swing since his nail-biter win over Alanna Koch Saturday night.
On Monday afternoon he met with Lieutenant Governor Vaugh Solomon-Schofield, who asked the Rosthern-Shellbrook MLA to form government and assume the title of premier-designate.
Following that meeting, Moe met with Finance Minister Donna Harpauer to be brought up to speed on the spring budget.
“There’s been certain commitments that have been put forward in this leadership campaign by myself and I will be consulting with some of the other leadership candidates as well,” Moe told reporters prior to that meeting.
Among Moe’s campaign promises are $30 million for education and hiring 400 educational assistants.
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The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) encouraged members to buy Saskatchewan Party memberships. Candidates took notice, and STF president Patrick Maze is optimistic about the soon-to-be premier.
“We believe that thousands of teachers signed up for Sask Party memberships and their voice was heard. They spoke up for their students and now we’re looking forward to getting more supports into our classrooms,” he said.
School boards across the province were forced to make cuts after a $55 million cut in the last provincial budget. Opposition Leader Nicole Sarauer was quick to remind people Moe was part of that decision.
“Actions speak louder than words, we hope he does better, but we’re cautiously optimistic we suppose,” she said.
The 2018-19 budget will be released in mere weeks, so much of the work has already been done. Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy professor Ken Rasmussen said this will not be a Moe budget.
“This is going to be a Brad Wall budget in all likelihood. It seemed clear that he plans on staying very close to the Brad Wall script on the budget, so we can expect cuts again,” Rasmussen said.
Moe will attend his first caucus meeting as Saskatchewan Party leader Tuesday morning. He will be officially sworn in as leader later this week and a cabinet shuffle is expected to follow.
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