The Leader of the Official Opposition says thousands of people showed up to the Legislature Monday morning, including teachers who were part of the one-day rotating strike, to advocate for class size and complexity being included in the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation contract.
Carla Beck stated during the first Question Period of the spring session that with a decade where the number of support staff in schools has been decreasing while enrolments and class complexity have increased, the impact has been difficult for teachers. She asked the Premier why the government refuses to include it in the contract to guarantee it continues every year. Scott Moe replied that the fastest way to come to an agreement is to get back to the bargaining table. He says, “Since the last budget, Mr. Speaker, there has been $53.5 million provided in this space. That’s a testament to the government’s commitment that we need to continue to work with school divisions and teachers in funding classroom size and complexity, Mr. Speaker. There are additional commitments to come.” Moe stressed that any classroom size and complexity agreements will be done with locally elected School Divisions.
Beck also brought up the deadline that passed last week for remitting the levy on natural gas. She stated that the NDP does not approve of the carbon tax or the fact that temporary relief from the tax on home heating oil was announced, which mainly affects Atlantic Canada. But, she questioned why the government didn’t contact the feds to work out some sort of agreement so that Saskatchewan residents would get their refunds. She said, “Neither the SaskEnergy Minister nor the Premier even bothered to pick up a phone to try to get a deal from the feds. Mr. Speaker, that is not leadership.”
Natural Resources Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, noted last week that the rebate ensures most households get more money back than they pay in tax, with lower income households benefiting the most, and all direct proceeds are returned to the province. Premier Scott Moe states the carbon tax doesn’t lower emissions, it just drives up costs and most recently he talked to the Minister of Environment, Steven Guilbeault, at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Dubai back in December.
