P.A. provincial candidates get in their first jabs

Saskatchewan residents won’t head to the polls until April 4, but Prince Albert area provincial candidates appear pretty fired up.

The first candidate forum for both the Prince Albert Northcote and Prince Albert Carlton ridings took place yesterday, Feb.11, at the Abbeyfield Home. Roughly 40 participants packed into the home’s tiny basement space to participate in the forum focused specifically on seniors’ issues.

New Democrat Shayne Lazarowich was the sole candidate representing the Carlton riding, while his fellow orange Nicole Rancourt, Green Tracey Yellowtail and Sask. Party incumbent Victoria Jurgens represented the Northcote riding.

“Saskatchewan is the best place in all of Canada to live, to work, and to raise a family,” Jurgens said in her opening remarks.

She told the predominately over-65 crowd, her party had made Saskatchewan a more affordable place for seniors to live. While the NDP in previous years had not spent “one thin dime” on seniors on fixed incomes, her government had increased programs and decreased hospital wait times.

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Rancourt focused on her experience as a social worker, attempting to speak to seniors in the room on a personal level. She believed everyone in the province should benefit from an economic boom and asked repeatedly where the money went.

“This Sask. Party government has had record revenues and yet they have cut funding to valuable services in our community. If they have been cutting services in the good years, you can guarantee they’re going be cutting services in these tough years,” Rancourt said.

While the two women came with folders full of talking points, their counterparts, Lazarowich and Yellowtail, were much more off-the-cuff.

Lazarowich used his opening remarks to discuss his party’s platform, and also talked about his work in the community helping to organize the Canada Day festivities, and working with groups like Catholic Family Services and the Food Bank.

Yellowtail, meanwhile, had nothing prepared and told the crowd “I’m going to do all that I can for everyone.” She made a laundry list of services, saying “we’ll improve this,” then that, then that until she seemingly had run out of points.

As a social worker, Rancourt shone when asked about how she as MLA would combat elder abuse, but replied with “that’s a hard question” when Father Michael Fahlman asked about euthanasia.

Jurgens had no response to the reverend’s question and decided instead to take shots at the NDP governments’ performance. The NDP “don’t give a flying rip” about seniors she said and continued with how the Sask. Party has saved residents money. She spoke until the moderator took her mic away. 

When asked to answer simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to whether the province should incorporate a Ministry for Seniors, Yellowtail and Rancourt answered ‘yes,’ Jurgens answered “I am your advocate,” but Lazarowich answered ‘yes’ only after he was told he needed a one word response. The NDP candidate attempted to challenge the incumbent saying Jurgens didn’t have time to hear seniors’ grievances.

“(The man who asked the question) mentioned maybe 4,000 people approximately that have issues, if you’re telling me an MLA can deal with…those kind of people coming through their doors I kind of doubt that,” Lazarowich said.

While the debate didn’t seem to favour one side over the other, Rancourt received a small applause when she told the crowd it was the NDP’s priority to keep seniors in their homes.

Lazarowich jumped on this point, saying “I really think we have a Sask. Party that doesn’t get it.”

dreynolds@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @danitska