Sask Party leader Scott Moe made a campaign promise to double active family benefits if re-elected. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

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While announcing an increased active families benefit from $150 to $300, should the Sask. Party form government again, leader Scott Moe fielded a lot of other questions from media.

Moe (who will run in Shellbrook) was flanked by other local candidates hoping to win on October 28, including Alana Ross (Prince Albert-Northcote), Darlene Rowden (Batoche) and Kevin Kasun (Prince Albert – Carlton) as he outlined his third promise of the campaign.

“There are so many benefits to having our children involved in sports and artistic activities,” said Moe, standing in front of the climbing wall at the Alfred Jenkins Field House.

“We want our children to have the opportunity to skate, to dance, to play hockey and to play soccer in a facility just like this.”

A child with disabilities would have an increased benefit from $200 to $400. The threshold to qualify would also double. Right now, the cutoff is $60,000 incoming and the Moe government would double it to $120,000.

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Moe said that the increased benefit would cost about $4 million and that it is affordable because the provincial economy is doing well. He also said that his party recognizes the increased cost of living has impacted families across the province.

“Whether it be increasing the graduate retention program for those that are entering a new career in Saskatchewan, or whether it be doubling the Active families benefit and making it more accessible to more children and more families, we are making every effort to make life more affordable,” said Moe.

The NDP response is to say the Sask Party can’t be trusted to keep their promise.

“We’ve played this game with the Sask. Party before,” said Nicole Rancourt, who is running in Prince Albert Northcote.

“They cut this very same activity benefit before. We know families have been struggling with the cost-of-living crisis for years and now, only at election time, does Scott Moe pretend to care. He can’t be trusted.”

Moe took his turn to attack the NDP platform, including their plan to address crime.

“They’ve already committed to cutting police officers that keep our communities, including this community of Prince Albert safe,” he said and added that while in government, his party has increased the amount of police officers by 500.

Recently, he announced that Prince Albert Police Services would get 17 of an additional 100 officers paid for by the province and allocated to municipal police services.

They are also creating a 70 officer Saskatchewan Marshal Service who will be tasked to complex crimes caused by things like gang activity and to investigate rural crime.

The NDP say they will scrap the service that would be headquartered in Prince Albert.

Yesterday, NDP leader Carla Beck said in her campaign stop in Prince Albert that the $20 million being used to create the Marshal service would be diverted to hiring more city and RCMP officers and to try to address the root causes of crime, such as addictions and mental health issues.

Beck previously outlined a four-plank crime reduction plan. Along with diverting money from the marshals to existing police and addressing causes of crime, her plan is to create a task force to investigate unexplained wealth that is connected to criminal activity and also to provide a tax benefit to homes and businesses to increase security measures.

Those measures would include doorbell cameras, improved lighting and alarm systems.

Moe was asked about his plan to address a growing homelessness population across Saskatchewan and whether it could include some of the 3,000 vacant public housing units.

He said he is open to using the vacant units as transitional housing while the province builds a better program.

“I would point to a pilot program that has started where we have turned 15 or 20 of those houses to an organization to bring in a rent to own program for just that type of transitional housing,” he stated.

As does the NDP, the Sask Party recognizes the connection between addictions and mental health challenges and homelessness. Moe said it is a national problem and the provincial response so far is two-fold.

“To build out recovery opportunities for our friends and our family members that may have succumbed to mental health challenges that are very real today and all too often and maybe living a life of addiction, so we need those recovery opportunities and we’re building those 500 intensive recovery beds.”

He said that is part of the urgent care plan in Regina and will be in Saskatoon as well with a facility jointly owned by the Ahtahkakoop Cree Development.

The second part is to target drug dealers and that is what the extra police officers are for. While announcing the increased municipal police, Moe also announced a doubling of the officers dedicated to the Safer Communities and Neighbourhood program.

SCAN allows the public to report suspected drug activity online with the officers taking steps to remove dealers from rental properties as one consequence.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com