Global News’ Chris Carr sat down with NDP opposition leader Carla Beck to discuss several hot topics around the province.
The two talked about the most recent byelection, cost of living, housing and green energy.
Carr: Earlier this month, two candidates with the NDP, one with the Sask. Party were congratulated on byelection victories. Summer byelections, not known for their turnouts, what was your sense of engagement in these?
Beck: You’re right, we haven’t seen a byelection in August for 70 years, and there’s a reason for that. It tends to be a time when people are thinking about harvest, they’re thinking about summer vacations. We did find as we got closer to the byelection date, certainly we were knocking on thousands of doors, more people were aware of it. But it’s not a great time to to engage with people when they’re on summer vacation.
Carr: In terms of the issues that were discussed, we’ve heard throughout the summer from provincial and federal leaders talk about affordability, cost of living, people struggling with the very basics, food, shelter, gas. What are some of the things that you heard during the byelection? What are people saying?
Beck: By far the number one issue that we heard on the doorstep, and we knocked on tens of thousands of doors over the course of these byelections, was cost of living. I’ve heard people talk about the cost of living before. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen people as emotional talking about grocery bills, talking about thinking about not putting their kids into sports in the fall, talking about just feeling like they’re working as hard as they can, but still slipping further and further behind.
Carr: So what do you mean by that when you say emotion? What did you see?
Beck: We saw people getting tears in their eyes talking about buying groceries for their family, trying to have their kids have the standard of living that they had, being able to participate in hockey or in activities for their kids. And again, as I said, that feeling of being very squeezed, that they’ve done everything right, they’re working as hard as they can, but the end of the month they’re seeing less and less. And certainly every time they go to the grocery store, less ability to buy what they want for their family.
Carr: It’s no doubt people are feeling it right now with elevated costs. They’ve been high for about a year now. It’s really starting to have an impact on people’s day-to-day life. Their savings are becoming depleted. What role does the government have to play in making life more affordable?
Beck: Going back to this last provincial budget, we saw a government sitting on record windfall revenue due to the increase in potash and oil prices, for example. Instead of providing some relief in that budget, we saw a government that actually increased people’s costs, applying 32 new fees and taxes or increases for people’s power bills.
When a government has the ability, when they’re sitting on record revenues, be it at the federal level or provincial level, and this is the number one issue by far that people are facing. I think that there is a responsibility placed on leadership to provide some relief to people, to understand what their concerns are and to do everything in their power to provide some relief for people, something that we didn’t see from this government over the last year.
Carr: Housing is one of the key areas. We’ve heard recent comments from the Prime Minister on roles and responsibility and they’ve generated a lot of discussion. So I’m hoping to get your sense of these comments from the Prime Minister in saying, “housing is not a primary federal responsibility and the provinces and the cities need to step up and do their part.” Who should be taking the lead on housing?
Beck: I think what people expect of their leaders, rightfully so, is that they don’t point fingers, that they take the piece that they can improve and get to the table with other levels of government to actually, not just talk about these things, actually find some solutions. Looking back, the federal government pulled out of housing in the nineties. I think you’ve seen the impacts of that going forward.
We’re not building enough houses. Houses are not affordable for people who need them. And this is contributing to this feeling, as I mentioned, that people have that they’re doing everything right. They’re working harder and harder and they are looking at the life that their parents had that they want for their kids, and feeling despair about it. I think all levels of government need to understand that’s where people are at. Stop pointing fingers and get to the table and actually start delivering results for people across the country, certainly here in this province.
Carr: We recently heard the federal NDP offering a creative solution to meeting the challenges in a lack of affordable housing. The federal NDP wants the government and other partners to look at office space that was abandoned or just left vacant during the pandemic and converting this into student housing. We know this is a big issue right now for many who are returning to school in Saskatoon and Regina. How realistic is this approach in Saskatchewan?
Beck: Well, it’s not something that I’ve looked at in great detail since that announcement. But I think that looking at options that are available, where there is space, where there’s opportunity to not only increase the housing stock of new housing, renovate existing housing, looking at the use of malls or unused office space.
I mean, I think all ideas have to be on the table given the gravity of the challenges that we face in front of us. And I think all levels of government need to not be just pointing fingers, bringing things forward and working together with other levels of government. Ultimately, the test will be, is it effective? Does this increase housing? Does it improve people’s ability to get housing?
Carr: We’ve talked a lot about affordability. The green economy is also on the minds of many right now, and there’s a big discussion about how we get there. The federal government recently announced $74 million for the development of small modular reactor (SMR) in Saskatchewan. What role does the NDP see SMR having in getting to net zero?
Beck: The $74 million announcement for research and exploration, something we’ve been saying for a long time, we need to be looking at all options. There is no doubt that we have to be forecasting what the short term, medium term and long term energy grid looks like in the province and have said that we are open to a similar technology. Again, this is a situation where you didn’t see anyone from the government at that announcement. I think when we’re looking at not just the $74 million, but the billions of dollars potentially that we could see invested in SMR or other technology, I think that there is a responsibility for reasonable, responsible governments to be at the table, working out the details, not having one-off press conferences and not being at the same table together.
Carr: Now, both the Sask. Party and the NDP say this province will not be able to meet the federal government’s target goal of having net zero electric grids by 2035, more realistically, it would be 2050. Canadian Climate Institute disagrees, though, and they say Saskatchewan has enough time and just over a decade to get that done. What is preventing Saskatchewan from meeting that goal?
Beck: Well, I think inaction over the last 16 years of this government has put us in a very difficult position. We still generate over 80 per cent of power from nonrenewable sources in this province right now. You see a government that has honestly failed to invest in renewable power in the province. Would it have been possible if we’d started two decades ago or 15 years ago, possibly. But again, going back to that number one issue that we saw on the doorstep, if we’re looking at solutions that are going to double or increase power bills even more than that for people at a time when they’re having trouble putting food on the table, that is not a solution that I think is reasonable for most people in this province.
We certainly do need to reduce emissions. There is opportunity in existing technology and also in the future, in renewables, in mining for precious minerals, for electric car batteries. I think that there is opportunity there. I think there’s responsibility for us to reduce emissions. I think we all want the future for our kids to include clean air, clean water and the ability to generate good jobs. But I think at 2035, looking at the mix of how our power is generated right now, I don’t think that it’s realistic. That may have been different had this government made different choices going back over a decade and a half. But we have to live in reality. And right now, I don’t see that possible by 2035 without hugely increasing people’s power bills.
Carr: Okay. So putting 2035 aside, the big target is on 2024, the next provincial election. The last minute is yours. What is your vision for the province?
Beck: It’s been just over a year that I’ve had the privilege of being leader, and we’ve been through a number of byelections. I think what you can expect to see, what the people of this province can expect to see from an NDP government is what you’ve seen, connecting with people on the issues that they care about, being accountable, being common sense. We don’t take any of this for granted and we’ve seen some gains over the last few months.
We understand we have a lot of work to do to build trust, but I hear people out there. They’re frustrated with this government. They are tired of divisive politics. They want to have a reason to hope again. I do think that there is amazing potential for this province. I do think that it’s been my great privilege to be able to go out and talk to people about not only their concerns but their dreams for the future. I do see brighter days ahead for the people in this province, and I think they deserve a better government than they have right now.
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