Putting Saskatchewan

Companies & Workers First

The heart of Saskatchewan New Democrats’ economic agenda is putting local workers and local businesses first.

Over more than a decade in power, the Sask. Party has handed every one of the biggest projects to a company from outside of Saskatchewan. We should be putting our workers and companies first and building on the strength of our Crown Corporations.

As we rebuild, we need to ensure every dollar we spend benefits the local economy as much as possible and take advantage of our Crowns to rebuild our economy.

Our top priorities are introducing a Sask-First Procurement Policy and bringing the minimum wage up to $15/hour in our first term.

 

Going forward, we will:

• Remove the PST from construction labour, putting more than $200 million back into the economy every year.
• Introduce a Rural Reconnect program to provide high-quality Internet and cellular service everywhere in Saskatchewan.
• Lower SGI rates by roughly $85 per vehicle and provide an immediate $100 rebate to all policy-holders – which the Sask. Party refuses to do even though SGI cannot legally hold onto surplus funds.
• Build a new Saskatchewan Transportation Company that meets the needs of today’s families and businesses.
• Restore balance to Saskatchewan’s labour legislation so that workers can join unions, have safe workplaces and get fair contracts from employers.
• Enact pay equity legislation.
• Work with small businesses and industry representatives on a province-wide Buy Saskatchewan campaign.
• Institute a job creators’ plan to support local small businesses as they adapt to the vital and necessary $15/hour minimum wage.
• Reinstate startup loans for rural small businesses.
• Introduce a film employment tax credit to bring the film industry back to Saskatchewan.
• Work with the tech sector to make Saskatchewan more competitive with other jurisdictions.
• Reduce the craft beer levy to help our producers compete across the country.
• Lower crop insurance rates for new farmers to help them get started and provide $20 million per year to increase AgriStability reference margins.
• Improve the recognition of foreign credentials to allow more of our newest Canadians to fully participate in the economy.
• Invest $10 million to help workers train and retrain to stay competitive in a changing world of work.
• Create a new internship program to help young people get their first good job working for the provincial government and with our Crowns.