December 10, 2018

Aleana Young was nominated tonight to be the Saskatchewan NDP candidate in Regina University in the next election.

“I’m running because Saskatchewan people deserve better, particularly when it comes to this government’s cuts to education,” said Young. “I’m committed to advocating for teachers, students, and parents, to ensure that our school boards get the supports they need.” 

Aleana is a respected leader in Regina. She has served as a Regina Public School Board Trustee since 2012, where she has been a tireless advocate for high-quality education for Saskatchewan students and properly resourced classrooms.

Young is also serving her second term as the Vice President of the Saskatchewan School Boards’ Association, where she advocates for all 27 school boards in the province and for local voices in education.

Young is active in her community, currently serving as the Vice President of Family Service Regina and as a member of the University of Regina Senate. She is also a small business owner, operating a cheese shop in the Cathedral neighbourhood, and loves running around Wascana Lake.

 “Aleana’s a respected community leader and will be a strong advocate for the people of Regina University, both in the Legislature and in the community” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “She’s a welcome addition to the 2020 team.”

Find out more about Aleana on her candidate page at www.saskndp.ca/young

November 15, 2018

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili introduced a bill that would increase Saskatchewan’s minimum wage to $15/hour by 2022. The bill would see the minimum wage rise from it’s current $11.06 to:

• • $12.00 on and from January 1, 2019;
  • $13.00 on and from January 1, 2020;
  • $14.00 on and from January 1, 2021;
  • $15.00 on and from January 1, 2022.

“Our neighbours in Alberta saw their minimum wage reach $15/hour last month, and their economy is vastly outperforming ours,” said Meili. “Poverty wages hurt the most vulnerable, reward big out-of-province companies, and leave less money to spend in local businesses. Everyone does better when minimum-wage workers earn more.”

Saskatchewan is the only province in Canada where the minimum wage is less than half the median wage, which makes it especially hard for low-income workers in Saskatchewan to afford the basics. But in last week’s 75-minute debate, Sask. Party members spoke out against a higher minimum wage, with Sask. Party MLA Ken Francis from Kindersley defending Saskatchewan’s second-lowest-in-the-country minimum wage as follows: “we need the minimum wage kept relatively low so to provide an upside for more skilled and demanding positions. If you move the minimum wage up, everything else goes with it.”

“The Sask. Party’s wage policy is keeping people in poverty, with a real social and financial cost to the province,” said Warren McCall, NDP Critic for Labour Relations and Workplace Safety. “Try telling someone in their thirties who’s earning minimum wage that, with the Sask. Party formula, they’ll be collecting CPP before they see a $15 minimum wage, and see how fair they think that is.”

According to the government’s current formula, the minimum wage would not reach $15 per hour until 2052 — a full three decades later than what the NDP is proposing.

Add your name to our call for a $15 minimum wage by signing our petition at: https://www.saskndp.ca/minimum_wage

Meili proposes ‘Renew Saskatchewan’ plan to support clean energy transition

For immediate release

October 13, 2018 

SASKATOON—In his keynote address to NDP convention delegates this morning in Saskatoon, NDP Leader Ryan Meili presented his Renew Saskatchewan plan for removing the barriers that are keeping Saskatchewan families, farms, and businesses from reducing energy usage and shifting to lower-cost, renewable options.

“Climate change demands the best of us, but Saskatchewan has fallen behind. This plan is designed to jump-start the clean energy transition we know we need, meeting the urgency of climate change with the opportunity of low-cost clean energy.”

Similar to past Saskatchewan government innovations like the Rural Electrification Program or the Family Farm Improvement Program, the Renew Saskatchewan plan outlined by Meili would provide assessments and financing for clean energy installations or retrofits for homes, farms, businesses, industry, municipalities and reserves. After an initial assessment to determine the lowest-cost and highest-return option for a given property or organization, some of all of the cost of the installation would be covered by the fund, and would be paid back over time from the customer’s power or energy bills based on the value of the power generated or fossil fuel energy saved by the installation.

“Investment in renewable energy or retrofits of inefficient buildings pay for themselves in the money saved on heat or power,” Meili said. “People want to make the shift to clean energy, but the up-front cost stops them, even though it would save a lot of money over the long term. This plan would remove the barriers that currently prevent people taking action on climate change.”

Glenn Wright, an agricultural producer and engineer with almost 20 years of experience in the resource industry, called the plan an important and urgently needed step forward into the clean energy future Saskatchewan deserves and needs.

“We have the best solar resource in Canada and a lot of room for improvement in energy efficiency” Wright said.  “The NDP plan to focus on clean energy and energy efficiency is exactly what we need to address climate change and grow our economy.”

Renew Saskatchewan policy backgrounder

The provincial auditor’s report released last week further clarified the challenges facing Saskatchewan patients in accessing mental health care, stating that “long waits can lead to people’s conditions getting worse, and in some cases, waits can even contribute to death.”

Psychiatrist Sarah Dungavell, who practices in La Ronge and Saskatoon, says that “waitlists across the province remain too high and my colleagues and I are unable to see patients soon enough.”

With the Sask. Party government failing to take significant action to address this issue, the NDP is stepping forward to propose concrete, evidence-based initiatives to increase mental health care supports and promote better outcomes.

“The mental health needs throughout the province are urgent,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “We’re calling for a number of simple solutions that can improve the lives of our friends and neighbours struggling with mental health challenges. Investing in mental health services improves lives and leads to significant downstream savings. It’s the right thing and the smart thing to do.”

Meili is calling for a number of initiatives that would help address the challenges people face when trying to get the care they need:

• An increase in the health budget for mental health from the current five per cent to at least the national average of seven per cent, as promised by the premier during his run for leadership, but not delivered in the 2018/19 budget;
• Hiring of additional mental health support staff like psychiatric nurses, psychologists and social workers and increasing availability of publicly-funded counselling services;
• Supports for crisis intervention, including adequate funding for the mental health ER in Saskatoon, and the introduction of more such facilities in other communities;
• Expanding addictions supports, with special attention to crystal meth and fentanyl;
• Provincial involvement in the proposed Lac La Ronge Indian Band wellness centre;
• The development of a province-wide suicide prevention strategy that works alongside that being developed by the FSIN.

“We have heard the Sask. Party talk about supporting mental health, but what we need them to do is to take meaningful action,” said NDP Health Critic Danielle Chartier. “Far too many people are suffering and can’t get proper access to care. We’ve heard from families and mental health professionals that solutions – not just talk – are urgently needed.”

Saskatchewan NDP Monthly Giving Program

Make donating to the Saskatchewan NDP easier by joining Team Orange our monthly giving program. Sign up to join Team Orange and we will automatically debit your credit card or chequing account each month.

Our Team Orange donors help fund our organizing work across the province and allow us to communicate our message to voters. Becoming a monthly donor helps ensure we are able to undertake the important work building a party that is ready to win the next election.

Your monthly donation qualifies for the provincial tax credit of up to 75% of your contribution. 

• A monthly donation of  $100 pays to mail 1,200 letters to voters and you get a tax credit of  $625.

• A monthly donation of  $50 pays for up to  1,000 phone calls to voters and you get you a tax credit of  $400.

• A monthly donation of  $25 pays for  1,500 leaflets and you get you a tax credit of  $225.

• A monthly donation of  $10 pays for  150 buttons and you get a tax credit of  $90.

If you prefer to sign up by phone you can call  306-525-1322 

Yes, sign me up for Team Orange!

For Immediate Release

May 2, 2018

Regina – Yens Pedersen was nominated tonight to be Saskatchewan NDP candidate for the upcoming Regina Northeast by-election.   

“The Sask. Party has been taking people’s support for granted. This by-election is a chance for the people of Regina Northeast to send a message to the government that they are fed up with the Sask. Party paying for their mismanagement through cuts on the backs of the most vulnerable,” saidPedersen.

Yens Pedersen grew up on a small family farm near Cut Knife. He has worked as a lawyer in Regina for 20 years, representing family owned businesses, farmers, and individuals.

Yens is an active community member teaching beekeeping classes and having served on various non-profit boards and on the School Community Council at his daughters' school.

“Yens will be a strong voice in the Legislature for the people of Regina Northeast,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “New Democrats packed the hall tonight and I know we'll be working hard every day from now until the by-election to elect this dedicated community leader."

Find out more about Yens or get involved with his campaign at: https://www.saskndp.ca/pedersen