Education was on Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow’s mind last week when he called a provincial election for Sept. 16.
Here are the non-agriculture platforms of the three main parties as they stood Aug. 23.
The New Democrats led off with a promise that Saskatchewan high school graduates would get free tuition in the first year at any post-secondary institution in the province. The Liberals promised a $1,000 per student per year grant for the first two years of a program.
The Saskatchewan Party took a different tack, promising students will have jobs due to the party’s tax cut of 20 percent over four years or $1,200 a year for an average family. That includes a provincial sales tax reduced to five percent.
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The NDP promised taxes would be lower by $1,000 per year by the end of the four-year term. The Liberal’s tax cut estimates were not clear at press time.
All parties offer more front line money for health care. The Saskatchewan Party will demand the federal government return the $100 million previously cut from federal -provincial transfer payments to increase health care funding and provide more staff.
Increased transfer payments
The Liberal party suggests the increased federal transfers for health in last spring’s federal budget will be enough to fund Saskatchewan’s health care system, when combined with savings from eliminating district health boards and creating a dozen regional hospitals.
This contrasts with the Saskatchewan Party’s call for increased powers for district boards and block funding that would allow individual districts to spend as they see fit.
The NDP says it will add 500 health care staff at a cost of $75 million over four years. Federal transfers, won after last year’s all-premiers-request, will help foot the bill.
All parties promise higher spending on roads. The New Democrats have committed $1.25 billion over five years. The Liberals say they will spend $1.37 billion and the Saskatchewan Party $1.55 billion.
This raises the question of how the parties will pay for their promises.
The Liberals intend to cut the management level of civil service by 300 jobs and gain savings of $20 million in the process. An additional cut in ministerial travel would add another $9.6 million to the provincial surplus.
The Saskatchewan Party plans to cut the size of the provincial cabinet to save money.
That party also recommends major changes to social welfare creating a “workfare” system similar to Ontario’s system.
The other two parties are silent on the issue.
