NDP leader secures nomination for Saskatoon Westview, lays groundwork for campaign
Provincial election to be held April 4, 2016
Saskatchewan's leader of the NDP and the official opposition, Cam Broten, secured the uncontested nomination to represent the riding of Saskatoon Westview in the upcoming provincial election on April 4.
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The riding is a newly created one for this year's election. The riding sits in Saskatoon's northwest, bordered on the south by 33rd Street W. and sprawling west to east on both sides of Circle Drive N.
After giving a speech to the NDP caucus at the Radisson Hotel Saturday night, Broten spoke with reporters about his excitement for the slate of candidates the party will run for the campaign.
They've been shovelling billions out the door, out of province, to foreign corporations outside of the province and outside of the country.- Cam Broten
"[It's] a team that reflects the make-up of Saskatchewan. We're nearly half women. That's very important, to increase the number of women elected to the legislature," he said. "We have 20 per cent aboriginal candidates, and 14 per cent are visible minorities."
He also noted the average candidate age is 42 years: "There are people in their 30s, and there are boomers as well. It's a great mix."
In terms of election issues, Broten emphasized that the governing Saskatchewan Party has wasted money during the province's boom years.
"They've been shovelling billions out the door, out of province, to foreign corporations outside of the province and outside of the country," he said, citing the Ministry of Health's usage of John Black and Lean health care consultants.
Broten also bemoaned cuts in the Ministry of Highways.
"They're spending and paying more, but paving less. They eliminated 350 job within the ministry, and jacked up 400 per cent the use of consultants, many from out of province," he said.
"Dollars are not staying in Saskatchewan."
He said he thinks his party has momentum right now, especially with new candidates working hard and "bringing fresh ideas forward, with a vision focused on making sure families' priorities are front and center."
Those priorities, he said, are what he and his party have been hearing from people while door-knocking: lack of learning opportunities in classrooms, lack of educational assistants, long emergency room wait times in hospitals, and crumbling infrastructure that requires spending and repairs.