Dear Green Friends,

If ever there was a time for Saskatchewan to hear the message “Doing Politics Differently“, it’s now. Voters need the refreshing, honest approach of Saskatchewan Green policies and candidates to restore their faith in democracy. It has never been more evident that the SaskParty has reached a level of corruption that they aren’t even bothering to hide anymore. This week in the Saskatchewan legislature, the SaskParty Speaker of the House Randy Weekes revealed that he has been the victim of intimidation and threats from his own party since becoming Speaker.

He also tore up his SaskParty membership card. This should cause all of us to take careful notice. Jeremy Harrison, House Leader, is implicated in taking a gun to the legislature and should no longer be in cabinet and caucus. All he did is resign as house leader, but he has kept his other positions. This week has reminded me of the end of the Grant Devine era when all the questionable Conservative government dealings came bubbling up to public view.

We also need a real look at Regina Northeast SaskParty MLA Gary Grewal, who owns the Sunrise and Thriftlodge Motels. Grewal’s hotels received under $2,000 in Social Services client business from 2018 to 2020 but, since getting elected in 2020, his two establishments took in $731, 194 in government funds. How is this fair to us as taxpayers? Should a sitting government MLA really be allowed to profiteer from the Ministry of Social Services policy to pay for emergency housing for social services clients? It is especially dubious when this same government has consistently failed to provide any appropriate alternatives to endemic homelessness or to provide common-sense human solutions for those using these emergency hotel rooms. Their SIS Program has been an epic failure. It is adding insult to injury that a SaskParty MLA has been allowed to profit off the backs of the poor. 

The Saskparty’s fancy-free attitude toward our tax money truly became part of their governance rulebook with the Regina Bypass/GTH project, which cost a staggering $2 Billion. We should note how they procured aggregate, an indispensable material of sand, gravel and crushed stone vital for road construction. Evidence suggests that the Saskatchewan government silently provided aggregate for free for the Regina Bypass, only for VINCI-RBDB to sell it back to the government at retail prices, amounting to an unbelievable Half a Billion Dollars. This revelation points to possible circumvention of procurement norms and environmental regulations – and potential misappropriation of public resources. The Regina Bypass/GTH should have a full forensic audit done on it.  When elected I will commission a forensic audit on the $2 Billion Regina Bypass and renegotiate the ongoing maintenance contract with VINCI Construction from Paris, France.  There is a 30-year maintenance contract valued at $700 million, which we pay monthly with taxpayer dollars. Where did the $2 Billion Regina Bypass dollars go? Who got the money? Why has the SaskParty never properly answered these questions?

This year also brought to light, among other Saskparty scandals, the arrest of Cut Knife-Turtleford MLA Ryan Domotor, for communicating for the purpose of procuring sex. This same MLA who was arrested for hiring a prostitute voted against students’ sex education curriculum and voted for legislation that would purposely out trans students against their will. This same MLA  also participated in supporting sexual assault centres being banned. From educating in schools. How can the SaskParty caucus pass a “moral” overreach like the Parents’ Bill of Rights, while having an MLA participating in exploiting women who are in a vulnerable state and needing support? Their internal party culture reveals itself and declares they are no longer fit to lead.

The SaskParty government subsidizes the expansion of the oil and gas industry in this province, fights measures to reduce the burning of fossil fuels, refuses to take serious steps toward reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and actively discourages the pursuit of renewable energy within our province. This failure drags on while our province continues to need to budget to rescue our provincial agriculture industry from ever-worsening, climate change-driven drought conditions. Saskatchewan has the highest provincial emissions per capita in Canada, at three times the provincial average elsewhere in the country. Despite the more and more glaringly obvious situation we find ourselves in, we see more of the same old, same old capitalistic non-solutions being put in place. 

Now, at a time when our sitting SaskParty premier Scott Moe and his government are starting to sound more and more like Al Capone and his gang, right down to crooked deals, guns, prostitution, and a complete lack of respect for our provincial motor vehicle safety laws, this is a time in the history of our province that citizens must stand up and demand real change. Even those who claim to “not follow politics” must see that things cannot continue as they are. When we find ourselves at such a fork in the road, it is possible to mobilize even those who don’t normally vote – those who have lost faith in our political system and don’t participate. This is where the Saskatchewan Green Party has a real opportunity. I find time and again that non-voters can see our sincerity and altruism; I’ve had so many people tell me, “I haven’t voted in a very long time, but you are different, you’ve inspired me to get out and vote Green.”

Our Saskatchewan Green Party 2024 election slogan, “Doing Politics Differently” involves candidates who are genuine community citizens and activists,  who are relatable to people at the door. These qualities describe the individuals who bravely step up to make a difference by being SGP MLA candidates. Our province needs this kind of changemaker in the legislature more than at any other time in history.

I know many of you are tired as longtime Greens. But enough is enough, this is the time for the biggest push of our lives. The SaskParty and opposition NDP are both agreeing to push through the unnecessary and dangerous SMNRs (Small Modular Nuclear Reactors). The next seven generations are relying on us to oppose this strongly. Please reach out to [email protected] to get involved and volunteer in this year’s Green Party election campaign.

Yours with strength and resolve,

Naomi Hunter

Saskatchewan Green Party Leader 

1-306-561-8880

[email protected]