ESTEVAN - The five candidates for the Estevan-Big Muddy constituency in the upcoming provincial election gave their thoughts Wednesday on a number of local and provincial issues during a candidates' forum hosted by the Estevan Chamber of Commerce.
Lori Carr of the Saskatchewan Party, Andrew Cey of the Saskatchewan United Party, Billy Patterson of the Saskatchewan Green Party, Phil Smith of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party, and Phil Zajac of the Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan took questions from the public and the chamber during the event. Nearly 100 people attended the forum at the Estevan branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
Each of the candidates was given a few minutes to deliver a statement to start the event, and additional time to give closing remarks at the end.
In between, the MLA job hopefuls fielded three questions from the chamber that were provided in advance, and three more questions from the chamber they were not aware of previiously.
The three initial questions from the chamber focused on how the parties would address corporate taxes to keep Saskatchewan competitive; what the party would do to retain and attract workers in both health care and education; and how they envision the future of power generation in Estevan and Saskatchewan, and, as part of that, how they would guarantee Saskatchewan companies are given priority for these projects.
The non-prepared questions focused on how the parties would create an economic environment that attracts investment to the constituency; what their plans are to improve community safety and well-being, including addressing policing, addictions and homelessness issues; and how they would address tax structures at the urban and rural municipal levels. The latter question seemed to catch some of the candidates off guard, as a couple struggled to formulate a response.
As for questions from the audience, people wanted to know if the parties would work with Alberta and Manitoba to get the transportation corridor to the Port of Churchill in Manitoba open; how they would work with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Emmanuel Health to make it more conducive for international physicians to stay; what they think of wind and solar power; what they plan to do with the provincial sales tax; whether they would cut the education portion of property tax for seniors; and what they would do to improve workplace safety and strengthen Occupational Health and Safety measures, especially in light of the fine SaskPower received following the on-the-job deaths of two linemen in 2020 in Weyburn.
At one point, all five were asked if they believe climate change is real. All five said yes.
Another person wanted to know how the Saskatchewan United Party and the Buffalo Party differ. Cey said the SUP believes Saskatchewan should stay in Confederation. Zajac, who is the Buffalo Party leader, said there are a lot of similarities between the two, but the Buffalo Party doesn't operate from the top down.
Another person asked Carr whether she thought the government was too big and how it can be more accountable. Carr replied there is room to look at what the government's footprint looks like, and whether the right people are in the proper roles and tackling the necessary work.
Carr, who is the incumbent MLA, has been representing Estevan's riding since 2016, and the Saskatchewan Party has been governing the province since 2007. Each of the four challengers criticized the government for some of the decisions made during the past 17 years.
Election day will be Oct. 28. Advanced voting is taking place throughout the province this week.
For ongoing extensive coverage of the provincial election, including updates on election night, please continue to visit sasktoday.ca.
