Carla Beck talks NDP election platform with Evan Bray

With Saskatchewan’s provincial election looming, Carla Beck, leader of the Saskatchewan NDP, sat down with Evan Bray on September 3 to share more details of her party’s plan for the election.

The conversation covered Beck’s thoughts on health-care, education, her promise not to raise taxes, and what the NDP is doing to win more votes before Saskatchewan heads to the polls in October.

Listen to the full interview, or read the transcript below.

BRAY: I saw the ad over the weekend, and I got to ask you – I actually said Carla Beck’s played some ball in her day. The way you swing the bat, the way you’re hitting the balls in that commercial, you must have played ball.

Ball was a big part of growing up. It’s funny. I’m glad you said that – my brother sent me in a text telling me that he could give me some pointers for my swing.

BRAY: I know someone online said she’s got to get a smaller bat. She’s choking up so much on that bat. But what is the response been like to that commercial?

It’s getting a lot of attention, and, you know, that’s part of what we wanted to do there. Draw attention to my leadership. There’s a big baseball history in my family, the Becks are in the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Battlefords. Of course my my nephew, played a bit of ball up here in Saskatoon this summer. It was a fun way to to get some eyes on on the ad and the message that we’re putting forward, and so far it’s done a pretty good job of that.

BRAY: OK, so we’re we’re counting down to the provincial election, and I’m going to start with your guarantee that the NDP, if elected, will not increase provincial income taxes, small business taxes, provincial sales tax or corporate tax. No tax hikes, period. That’s a pretty bold statement. How do you think that’s going to be possible, Carla?

Well, you’re right. We we did some some strategizing. We certainly checked to make sure that this was possible, but the main thing that that led to that, Evan, was the fact that when we’re talking to people or small business owners across the province the number-one issue is affordability. It is, you know, whether small businesses can see themselves holding on for another year. That’s why we chose to not take the route that the provincial government currently has, doubling the small business tax in July of next year and not raising taxes on people in the province at a time when they simply can’t afford it. Now there are a lot of places that this government currently is overspending. I think this is an issue right now in the province – not necessarily of revenue, but it’s an issue of mismanagement, and it’s an issue of priorities, and I think within those parameters, you know, this is a promise that we can deliver, and we can address the things that people care most about.

BRAY: My worry is it this results in a cutting of services, as opposed to enhancing services. I guess I’m really questioning if it’s possible to do a tax freeze for that long, and is it healthy to do that?

One of the things that we’re betting on, Evan, and we hear this everywhere in the province, that there is an incredible amount of opportunity out there in this province right now. We are betting that the province will continue to grow, that we will invest in the things that people care most about. I’d rather have a lot more small businesses out there paying taxes than, you know, burdening them with doubling their small-business tax and having fewer businesses. We want businesses to be thriving. We want families to be able to pay their bills. We want to ensure that we’re investing in the things that people care most about. We’re not going to do things like spend a million dollars, extra dollars, to fly to Dubai or on limo services or the AIMS project, which has come in three times over budget. There are ways that we can continue to invest in the things that matter most to Saskatchewan people, cut the waste, and I’m betting on this province to be able to continue to grow in a way that, frankly, has stalled under under Scott Moe and the Sask. Party in the last number of years.

BRAY: So what would you say the the priorities are for the NDP? Not only heading into the election, but post election – if you’re elected as government – what will the priorities be?

Cost of living is the number-one issue, Evan. We will continue to to work with with families, with communities, with businesses, to ensure that we’re keeping costs low and ensuring that that all of the above are thriving there. We want to get Saskatchewan out of last place when it comes to education and health care, something that we hear from people right across the province, so that people have the services that they need. Those kids that are starting school today in Saskatchewan, we want to ensure that we’re providing them with the education that they deserve and, frankly, we need them to have in this province. We want to see the economy thrive and grow into the future; not just in a few sectors, but but right across the board. That opportunity is out there. We’re excited about the platform we’re going to put forward. It will be detailed, it will be costed, and I can’t wait for people in this province to see it and get excited about it.

BRAY: You mentioned you can’t wait to get Saskatchewan out of last place when it comes to education and health care. I think there’s a lot of people in the province that would echo that. Do you have a plan to do it, and are you prepared to talk about that today? Or is that getting rolled out as we get closer to the election?

We’ll continue to roll out details as we go along closer to the election, but today we’re going to make a big announcement on education, the first day back to school for many students in this province. We’re going to make a generational investment in education, something that is needed and something, you know, something that’s been neglected under under Scott Moe and the Sask. Party. I’m very excited about it. I won’t spill all of the details here, Evan, but it will be an exciting announcement, and I can’t wait to to be out there and show that to the people in Saskatchewan,

BRAY: Maybe a little uncharacteristic for an NDP government, but you came out with a plan just before the long weekend when it comes to getting tough on crime. What are some of your priorities in terms of crime and safety in the province? Because we know that’s that’s an issue for sure, not just in urban centers, but definitely in rural Sask. as well.

This is very much an issue that has has come to the forefront for us, because of the conversations that we’re having with people in the province. Getting tough on crime, as well as the root causes of crime, is something that is increasingly important to Saskatchewan people, whether that’s in rural areas or downtown Saskatoon, or P.A. or Regina, even smaller centers. One of the first things is making sure that we are getting services out to people in a timely manner. Scrapping the Marshall Service, something that we have heard a lot of criticism about, something that was announced two years ago – the province has now spent over $20 million we don’t have a single boot on the ground. What we’ve said was we would have dispatched half of that funding right away to deal with increasing the number of officers on the ground, and half of that to deal with the root causes, like mental health and addiction, something that we’ve seen really fester and grow under the Sask. Party’s watch.

BRAY: When it comes to investing in that, there’s that balance between investing in some of the social challenges, which obviously we know are rooted in some of the effects or the causes of of these challenges, and the response to it. How do you find the balance of that? Those types of investments cost money, and do you have enough money to play with to pay for the things that you want to do?

What we’ve seen under this government right now is an unwillingness to listen to those voices on the front line, whether that was the SIS program that took an already, you know, almost epidemic levels of mental health and addictions facing communities, and really poured fuel, unfortunately, on that fire. We have services that are are being deployed inefficiently, because this has been an issue that the government has let fester out of out of control. There it absolutely is a balance, Evan, and what we don’t see from this government is a willingness to strike that balance. We don’t see a willingness to work with front-line workers, work with front-line municipalities, with front-line law enforcement, and unfortunately, we see so-called solutions from them that are costly and don’t address the issues at hand. This is, as I said, a matter of both mismanagement and misplaced priorities. I think we have listened to those municipalities, to those front-line officers, to those who work in mental health and addictions. This is a better approach. It will be more effective, and it won’t be as costly as what we’ve seen the Sask. Party undertake in the last while.

BRAY: I asked you a few months back if you thought you could win the election. You said yes. I’m assuming your answer is still yes. It’s easy to make big promises, and this promise of no tax increases and some of these changes that you’re talking about, what do you say to the people that say it’s easy to make promises when the chances that you’ll have to actually follow through with them are low?

Evan, I don’t make promises that I don’t intend to keep. And we have been very, very careful with the promises that we’ve made, that they are promises that that we can deliver on. I do think we can win. I understand that we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we certainly are not taking anything for granted. We will continue to work, as I said, right up until that last ballot is cast on election day. But you know, people in this province are getting to know me. They will know that I am not someone who who takes promises lightly. We will deliver on all of the things that we are putting forth on the platform, and I’m really excited to unveil it to the people of Saskatchewan.

This interview has been edited for clarity.