Kindersley By-Election – Candidates Respond To SEIU-West Questionnaire
The SEIU-West Political Action and Awareness Committee (PAAC) sent a series of questions to all candidates, as of February 6, for the upcoming by-elections taking place on March 1st in Swift Current and Kindersley. Members who live and work in these areas are affected by the political decisions made by their elected representatives, so the PAAC ensured their questions would directly impact the wellbeing of the local communities. Below, you will find the Kindersley candidates’ responses to the questions. For more voting information such as polling locations, voter ID, etc., click here.
Kindersley:
Travis Hebert (NDP) – below is a snap shot – for the full response and questionnaire, click here.
Health care
- Against the public sector rollbacks
- Will advocate for appropriate staffing levels in health care
Education
- Wants to invest in childcare and early childhood educational opportunities
- Against the $55 million cut to education, and says the promised $7.5 million is not enough to make up for the large cuts
Precarious Work and a $15 Minimum Wage
- As a young person/student, recognizes the need to address precarious work and tuition fees
- Supports a fair minimum wage of $15/hour
- Will fight for safe, stable, well-paid work and wants to reverse the cuts to employment training and supports for students as well as their tuition fee hikes
Women’s Issues
- Proud of NDP team that is 50% women
- Ready to work to increase child care spaces and reduce the cost of child care to ensure access is universal
- Will advocate for paid leave to workers who experience domestic violence
Climate Change
- Wants our province to improve monitoring, regulations and enforcements to protect our environment
- Will advocate for a made in Saskatchewan solution to address climate change and is against Ottawa’s attempts to impose their tax on us
Funding to Public Services
- Against targeting mismanagement on vulnerable people such as seniors and children with special needs
- Will speak out against cuts and fight for public services for the Kindersley community
Ken Francis (Sask Party) – below is a snap shot – for the full response and questionnaire, click here. Being that he did not directly respond to questions about wage rollbacks, it is important to note that Scott Moe of the Sask Party, has indicated he supports the 3.5% public sector rollbacks – and is now saying he wants to cut 5 per cent from workers in the public service.
Health care
- Respects the bargaining process but says that there is drop in our province’s revenue, so he wants to monitor these wage expenses in order to balance our budget
- Discusses the investments in the Kerrobert Health Centre physician clinic
- Discusses how many doctors and nurses are in Saskatchewan, and the number of seats to the College of Medicine
- Discusses SaskDocs who works with health regions to recruit more doctors in rural and remote areas
Education
- Says Scott Moe will invest $7.5 million into education
- Says Moe has committed to increasing funding to $30 million to hire more in-school professionals when the 2018-19 budget is tabled
Precarious Work and a $15 Minimum Wage
- Says Saskatchewan is projected to lead in economic growth, no reference to precarious work or the current struggles to make ends meet
- Says the minimum wage is reviewed annually, no commitment to change
- No comment on tuition rates
Women’s Issues
- Says the Sask Party took action on interpersonal violence by providing unpaid leave, no commitment to paid leave
- No comment on child care access or affordability
Climate Change
- Says the Sask Party has a made in Saskatchewan Climate Change Strategy with no carbon tax
Funding to Public Services
- Says the last budget was difficult, but had to be done to address the deficit