‘Underdog’ NDP proposes cap on size of classrooms
His ‘Saskatchewan-first’ plan would see public dollars go to local companies
The provincial NDP is pitching a 24-student cap on classes from kindergarten to Grade 3 and a Saskatchewan-first procurement policy, as the party begins nailing down platform planks in advance of the 2020 campaign.
NDP leader Ryan Meili made those commitments Saturday as part of his speech at the party’s annual convention, in which he bluntly admitted his party has plenty of ground to make up less than a year out from election day.
“There’s no question, we’re the underdogs in this race,” he told reporters after the speech, pointing to the Saskatchewan Party’s larger caucus and deeper pockets.
But Meili recast those disadvantages as assets, painting a picture of a “tired” and “entitled” government that’s out of ideas.
“We’re also on the side of the underdogs, on the side of the people,” he explained. “And I think people are looking for exactly that.”
Meili’s speech hit well-worn NDP themes but combined them into a change-focused message connecting locally driven economic development with early investments in health, education and childcare.
“If we invest in people, in education, in eliminating poverty and diversifying our economy so that we’re more resilient to boom and bust cycles, then, if things get tough, when prices drop, we’re more resilient,” he later told reporters.
While the party’s platform won’t be released for months, Meili made two significant commitments. First among them was a pledge to put a hard limit on class sizes.
“With a New Democrat government there won’t be a single class from kindergarten to Grade 3 with more than 24 children,” Meili said.
With a budget still ahead, Meili acknowledged the Saskatchewan Party will have the chance to steal his idea. But he wasn’t worried.
He said the early rollout of platform ideas gives Saskatchewan voters a chance to become familiar with what his party is offering.
The Saskatchewan Party government made export-led growth the centrepiece of its throne speech last month, touting its upcoming Saskatchewan Plan for Growth. Meili put equal stress on the economy. But he again drew stark contrasts. “Under the Saskatchewan Party, we see almost all major projects going to out-of-province or even out-of-country,” he told an audience of more than 200 party supporters.
“Don’t you think we should be building them with our companies and our workers? Absolutely.”
He promised a “Saskatchewan-first plan to ensure that public dollars go to local companies who hire local workers.”
When pressed about the implications of trade agreements that require equitable treatment in government procurement, Meili noted that Alberta and B.C. have already gone down similar roads. Their approaches could be a model for what the NDP would propose, he said.
Meili added that his plan would involve community benefit agreements that would consider local impact of contracts, rather than simply the bottom line.
The party’s slogan, “People First,” contrasts with the Saskatchewan Party’s “Strong Leadership, Strong Saskatchewan” and “Stand up for Saskatchewan” messaging, which highlights Premier Scott Moe as a steady champion of local interests against Ottawa.
Meili said the NDP is aiming to win, a position that has remained the official line despite the significant challenges facing a party that won just 10 seats in 2016 and was trounced in rural areas.
“To consider it a victory, we’d have to win more than 31,” said Meili. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”
He charted that path by naming specific battlegrounds and ridings the party is expected to target in 2020: Prince Albert-carlton, Batoche, Saskatchewan Rivers, the Battlefords, Canora-pelly, Indian Head-milestone, Last Mountain-touchwood and the two Moose Jaw ridings, as well as suburban Regina and Saskatoon.