Buy Local Day Act gets unanimous support

The first Saturday of each month will likely be declared Buy Local Day in Saskatchewan, after government and Opposition actually agreed on something.

For such an innocuous proclamation, the future didn’t look promising for the private member’s bill proposed by the NDP.

In a 75-minute debate in November, Saskatchewan Party MLAs declared their distaste for the Buy Local Day Act, calling it “ludicrous” and saying it “reeks of ignorance.”

Take member for Moose Jaw North Warren Michelson, who said “the place of government is not to look at telling people where to make local purchases.”

Or MLA for Saskatoon Eastview Corey Tochor, who argued “we should support local business every day of the year ... not 12 times a year.”

On Thursday, just before MLAs headed back into the house to vote on the bill, Minister Responsible for Trade Jeremy Harrison tried to downplay those statements.

But it’s tough to make comments like Michelson’s “I can’t support the motion that was made by the Opposition,” or former-MLA Darryl Hickie’s “For a government to have to support or put in an Act, a law, to demand that is ludicrous,” resemble anything other than a distinct about-face by government.

After the bells to vote stopped ringing in the house Thursday, the Buy Local Day Act was passed unanimously.

Broten said he was “very pleased” to see government’s “change of heart.”

“It’s good we can pass this legislation and add another thing to strengthen local businesses in Saskatchewan.”

As for the change of heart, there seems to be no clear answer as to why.

Despite Michelson, Hickie and Tochor all speaking against the bill, there was nothing but praise for the idea outside the chamber.

Mind you, even that was somewhat backhanded, with Harrison saying the act was a “symbolic statute” and the NDP’s “only economic policy that I can find on their website or heard them talk about,” before trumpeting government’s own “substantive” economic measures to support small businesses, like the small business tax decrease.

Broten said he hopes government also supports his party’s proposed local procurement bill.

“It’s an important combo and would do a lot to help Saskatchewan businesses,” he said.