Sask. NDP calling on provincial government to ‘save our summer’

With warmer weather on the way and the possibility of more things to do, Saskatchewan’s NDP is calling on the provincial government to do more to get people out — safely — this summer.

The Opposition party wants the government to waive all provincial park gate fees for Saskatchewan people for the summer season, and for that to start before the May long weekend.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili said it’s important that everyone is still cautious due to COVID-19 as we head into summer.

“I know Saskatchewan people have been doing everything they can to keep each other safe,” Meili said Thursday.

“As we see more opportunities to reopen, as case numbers do start to drop, as vaccine rates rise, there will be more things we can do. But I think it’s really important that the government also be looking at what else can they do to create more safe opportunities.”

However, Meili did say cases aren’t going to go away immediately and there are still risks.

“But going out to your provincial park or regional park, that’s something you can do really safely and let’s make that easier for people, make that the easy option, the safe option,” he said.

The government doesn’t seem interested in that idea, pointing out thousands of people have already booked sites at parks and some have already paid. Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for Tourism Saskatchewan, said those park fees are used to pay for many services important to the park.

The NDP is also calling on government to remove the PST charged on restaurant meals.

Aleana Young, the NDP’s jobs critic, said live entertainment, arts and the cultural sector are the sectors that have struggled the most through the pandemic and have the biggest road to recovery.

“Anything that this government can do to help these sectors that are struggling and need a little bit of help — we’re not asking for handouts here, we’re essentially asking the government not to tax industries that are already hurting,” said Young.

The NDP had also originally been calling for the PST to be removed from live entertainment, but during Question Period, members of the Saskatchewan Party government pointed out there is no PST on live entertainment.

Meili admitted the NDP made a mistake. He said a member of the party’s staff had said government “slapped” the PST on so many things that they saw one more than was there.

In its bid for a better summer, the NDP also argued for the province to reintroduce the Gradworks program to support jobs for young people. The now-defunct program gave recent post-secondary graduates internships at Crown corporations.

Harrison, who is also the minister of immigration and career training, said the Gradworks program was redundant and currently the province hires more for internships than when that program was in action.