Saskatchewan election campaign brings Moe to Battlefords, Beck to Regina

REGINA – Saskatchewan New Democratic Leader Carla Beck promised more police officers on the campaign trail Monday, while the Saskatchewan Party’s Scott Moe offered some health-care help.

Beck told reporters in Regina an NDP government would hire 100 Mounties and municipal police officers if elected on Oct. 28.

She said the plan includes $10 million for more boots on the ground and another $10 million for addictions treatment and mental health services.

Beck said the money would come from redirecting funds from the incumbent Saskatchewan Party’s marshals service, which has been pegged to cost $20 million a year once operational.

“I’ve heard from so many families who are scared to send their kids down to the corner store after dark, people who are scared to walk their dogs, seniors who are afraid in their houses and people in rural communities who are concerned about the long and growing wait times to respond to RCMP calls,” Beck said.

“It’s time for change. You deserve to feel safe in your own home and in your own community.”

Saskatchewan’s crime rate increased this past year and has been ranked the worst in the country for 25 straight years according to statistics from the Canadian Centre for Justice.

Moe has introduced a new police force, known as the marshals service, to work with RCMP and reduce crime.

The service has been criticized by some municipal leaders and the union representing Mounties for being a waste of money. They say the money would be better spent on existing policing.

Earlier this summer, Moe announced $17 million to hire 100 municipal police officers, create safer communities and expedite police training.

In Regina on Monday, Moe announced a re-elected Saskatchewan Party government would make it easier for people to access fertility treatments and cancer testing.

He said he would introduce a 50 per cent refundable tax credit — up to $10,000 — to help cover the cost of a first fertility treatment.

“We want to make it more affordable for women, for couples and for families who may be in need of fertility treatments to start and grow their families right here in our province,” Moe said.

His party would also make it easier to screen for cervical cancer by allowing women 25 to 69 to have self-screening tests for the human papillomavirus infection, or HPV.

Since 2020, the NDP has pushed Moe in the legislature to cover some of the costs for fertility treatments.

Candidate Aleana Young said in a news release she was heckled and dismissed by Saskatchewan Party members when she raised the issue in the assembly.

Moe said Young is only making accusations.

“We can quibble about the timelines on when this is being brought forward, but the important thing is that it is a commitment by this (Saskatchewan Party),” he said.

The NDP has promised to cover the first round of in vitro fertilization treatment for families.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2024.

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VANCOUVER – British Columbia‘s Conservative leader says comparing the Nuremberg trials or Nazi Germany to public health measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic is unacceptable and “deeply disrespectful to the memory of those who suffered” in the Holocaust.

That’s after video surfaced of Rustad saying his party would “certainly be participating with other jurisdictions” after being asked at an online meeting in July about where he stood on “Nuremberg 2.0,” which is the idea that people behind public health measures during the pandemic should be put on trial.

Rustad now says he wants to “clarify” his comments made during a conversation with members of the BC Public Service Employees for Freedom group.

The Conservative leader says in a statement on the social media platform X that he “misunderstood the question” about whether he supported “Nuremberg 2.0.”

He says it’s a “distortion of history” to compare pandemic public health measures with Nazi Germany or the Nuremberg trials, which sought accountability for the Holocaust.

The issue is the latest in a series of unscripted moments on the B.C. Election campaign trail as Rustad, NDP Leader David Eby and Green Leader Sonia Furstenau get ready to square off in a debate on Tuesday.

They have also included a sign erected outside Vancouver billionaire Chip Wilson’s home last week, calling the NDP “communist.”

Photos on social media show the sign and the gates to Wilson’s $81 million home vandalized with crude graffiti about the Lululemon founder.

Vancouver Police say they’re investigating the incident after receiving a report.

On Monday in Maple Ridge, B.C., Eby described education plans including a mental health counsellor in every school and an educational assistant for all classrooms from kindergarten to year three.

He also said there would be expanded on-site school child care.

Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau in Victoria said the party would support what she called a successful model of transitional housing that is employed in Duncan on Vancouver Island.

She says “the Village” model, which sees people housed in small individual housing units, offers “practical solutions for the homelessness crisis.”

Both Eby and Rustad had been in B.C.’s Okanagan over the weekend, with Eby promising to entice more doctors, nurses and health professionals to rural communities with a loan forgiveness program and Rustad in Kelowna pledging to bring an end to tent encampments.

Tuesday’s debate will be the only televised debate of the campaign before voting day on Oct. 19.

As election day approaches, advance voting will also be available Oct. 10 to 13 and Oct. 15 to 16.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

New Brunswick‘s Liberal and Green parties are set to make announcements about health care on the campaign trail today as the provincial election race enters its second half.

Liberal leader Susan Holt is scheduled to hold her announcement this morning in Saint John, N.B., followed by lunch at the city’s market.

A spokesperson with the Progressive Conservative party shared few details about the event scheduled for leader Blaine Higgs in Fredericton this morning.

Green Party Leader David Coon will hold a news conference this morning about “local health-care decision-making” alongside deputy leader Megan Mitton in her Sackville, N.B. riding.

On Saturday, Coon said he was proud to put forward a gender-balanced slate among the party’s 46 candidates.

While the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives are running with full slates, the Greens are three candidates short and will not have full representation when the province’s residents go to the polls on Oct. 21.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.