Sask. NDP vows to keep pushing for cost-of-living relief

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The Saskatchewan NDP says drivers in the province could — and should — be paying several dollars less today and through the holiday season whenever they buy gas, as the official opposition continues to make cost-of-living its highest priority.

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After an NDP emergency motion to suspend the provincial 15-cent-a-litre gas tax failed in the legislature on Tuesday, Opposition NDP Shadow Minister for Finance Trent Wotherspoon on Wednesday criticized the government for “piling on taxes and costs while blocking critical relief for families.”

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The NDP says its proposed gas tax cut would save families hundreds of dollars over six months.

“No government should be standing in the way of relief,” Wotherspoon said on Wednesday, speaking in front of a gas station in Saskatoon.

“If this government weren’t so out of touch, the price at the pump this morning could have been in ($1.20) territory, like what we’re seeing in Manitoba and Alberta.”

The NDP is focusing largely on the cost of living during this abbreviated legislative session, while Premier Scott Moe has said there are other ways to save people money.

Wotherspoon on Wednesday said his party will keep fighting for relief and commit to more emergency motions in its attempt to pressure the Sask. Party government into action before Christmas.

NDP Leader Carla Beck pressed Moe during question period on Tuesday to support the gas-tax holiday for people as they’re buying Christmas presents.

“People cannot afford to wait until tax time to have some cost-of-living relief. They need help now,” Beck told the assembly a day after the governing Saskatchewan Party laid out its legislative priorities in the throne speech.

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“We could offer this relief now, if the premier would just say yes to our motion,” she said.

Moe told the assembly there are better ways to help with affordability, including personal income tax relief. Moe’s government plans to introduce that measure in legislation later this sitting.

“Those tax reductions are not only affordable for the province, but they are permanent. They are not temporary. They are going to be there for years to come,” he said.

Moe added the province also plans to continue to withhold the federal carbon levy on home heating bills.

Beck told reporters the government’s decision to block the gas-tax motion shows Moe is out of touch with cost-of-living pressures.

“This is a government that says that they understand the challenges Saskatchewan people are facing and understand the need for some changes, but we saw them … vote against that relief,” she said.

Moe told reporters he’s going to focus on implementing promises he made leading up to last month’s provincial election, which includes personal income tax relief. He said he hopes the legislation passes during the current legislature sitting, so people can start seeing savings early next year.

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The legislature session resumed this week after the Oct. 28 election saw Moe win a smaller majority with 34 seats in the 61-seat legislature. Beck’s NDP has 27 seats.

— With Canadian Press files from Jeremy Simes

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