Sask. NDP leader Carla Beck speaks to the Rotary Club of Prince Albert. (Derek Craddock/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Craddock

CARLA BECK

NDP leader visits P.A., hears from SLGA employees

Jan 16, 2023 | 3:00 PM

The leader of Saskatchewan’s Official Opposition was back in Prince Albert on Monday as part of a tour of different businesses and non-profits in the area.

Carla Beck, who has held the top job for about six months now, said she enjoys returning to Prince Albert to meet with community members, especially those who feel they have been ignored by the SaskParty government.

One such group are liquor retail employees with the SLGA, who found out during the throne speech in October that they would be out of work as the government planned to close those stores.

Beck was scheduled to meet with those employees on Monday afternoon to hear their concerns.

“We know that in too many communities in this province, full-time well-paying jobs are hard to come by,” Beck said. “Here we have more workers in this community who are going to be finding themselves looking for that employment.”

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Earlier in the day, Beck spoke to the Prince Albert Rotary Club at the Coronet Hotel, speaking about her past in rural Saskatchewan and what led her to pursue a career in politics. She talked more about the NDP’s plans to push the government to support sectors like health care, agriculture, and the labour market.

When it comes to the decision to cut the SLGA stores, Beck said she and her caucus are still wrapping their head around that.

“I don’t think this is something that the provincial government has given thought to and certainly hasn’t listened to,” she said.

When the government announced the move, the minister responsible for SLGA, Lori Carr, said revenue has declined sharply in the 34 stores that will close, which prompted them to pull out of the retail sector.

Another stop on Beck’s tour on Monday involved Hope’s Home, a place dear to her heart having worked with children and those with disabilities in her university days. She also once held the critic’s portfolio for education, early learning and childcare.

“We know that there’s been an influx of that funding from the federal government for early learning and childcare,” she said. “Really interested in how that is playing out (and) how that is impacting communities across the province.”

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock