The Saskatchewan Liberals have outlined four themes as the party released its election platform on Wednesday.
Leader Robert Rudachyk says that includes building a strong and diversified economy.
FULL COVERAGE: 2020 Saskatchewan Election
“We have the power to strengthen our economy to better withstand the boom and bust cycles brought on by increasingly unpredictable commodity prices,” Rudachyk said.
“We can achieve this by tapping into our nearly unlimited potential for renewable energy, creating more ways to get our goods and resources to market, and supporting more diverse job-creating sectors such as the film industry.”
The Liberals said they would move toward green energy stewardship by allowing anyone to contribute to the electrical grid and set the rate to 50 per cent of the personal rate charged by SaskPower.
Goods would be moved on existing rail lines to the port in Churchill, Man., and the film employment tax credit, eliminated by the Saskatchewan Party, would be reinstated, according to the party’s plan.
They would also ease taxes to help struggling families by adjusting income brackets to reflect better current incomes and inflation.
“We can also bring more immediate relief for families and communities that are struggling, by eliminating PST on all insurance products, and reducing the tax burden on low and middle-income families.”
Failures in the classroom have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Liberals said, and they would commit long-term funding to support teachers and students and address large class sizes.
The Liberals said they would improve senior health care with a senior prescription drug plan and expanded home care services.
Rudachyk is also calling for the government to be more accountable to the public and to that end, he said he would ban corporate and union donations to political parties.
“There’s no better time than now to make sure our government is accountable to the voters, not to the interests of large (and often out-of-province) political party donors,” he said.
“That is why we would follow the lead of many other jurisdictions by banning donations from any corporation or trade union, and setting a reasonable limit on personal donations.”
The Liberal plan would also reduce the number of seats in the legislature from the current 61 to 50.
The party said this would save roughly $1.1 million a year while improving efficiency.
No costing of the platform promised was provided by the Liberals.
The Liberals are running candidates in three ridings — Regina Lakeview, Regina Northeast and Saskatoon Westview.
Saskatchewan heads to the polls on Oct. 26.
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