Saskatchewan’s two main political leaders had agreed before October’s provincial election not to target the families of candidates during the campaign, says Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck.
It was a commitment she says was broken.
In a recent year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Beck said she and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe had promised one another they would keep families out of partisan attacks.
It was a step too far when the children of an NDP candidate were tied to a Saskatchewan Party campaign promise over change rooms, she said.
“The premier and I don’t have a lot of time to speak (to one another). But we do on occasion often speak about families, the need to have vigorous debate. There are lines that we shouldn’t cross. One of those lines that we’ve discussed is around not bringing families into this,” Beck said.
“It’s a commitment that I expected him to honour. It’s a commitment that people in the province would understand is necessary.
“It’s a bar that never should have been crossed.”
During the election campaign, the two transgender children of NDP candidate Jared Clarke were the subjects of a complaint over using a girls’ change room at a southeast Saskatchewan school.
Clarke has said a news article about the complaint was published Oct. 16 and, later that day, a photo of his family was shared on social media linking them to the article.
Moe was asked at a press conference the next day about the complaint and announced he would ban “biological boys” from using girls’ change rooms at schools if his Saskatchewan Party won the Oct. 28 vote.
He also touted the pledge would be his first order of business as premier, but it wasn’t in his party’s platform document.
After Moe’s Saskatchewan Party was re-elected, and Clarke became a new legislature member, Clarke publicly said Moe had put a target on his children and that his family received unimaginable hate.
Clarke also demanded an apology from the premier.
Moe has said he was unaware of the kids’ identities when he made the change room promise.
Beck said she hopes the impacts on Clarke’s family are understood.
“I would expect to never see that happen again.”
Beck also said Moe should apologize.
“Scrutiny is something that’s part of the job. It should never, never involve children,” she said.
Moe said in a recent interview he agrees with Beck that families should be off limits in politics.
“I agree with her, when we have that discussion (on family). My family, her family, no one’s family. They don’t have their name on the ballot,” he said.
When asked if he would apologize to Clarke, the premier said he had no comment.
“I just won’t comment on people, and I didn’t from the beginning,” he said.
A week after the election, Moe announced a change room ban was no longer a legislative priority and that school divisions were working on plans to support all students.
“We’re just working through what policies are there, and the goal is to get to a place of support for every child in every school,” Moe said.
“I think we’ll be able to find our way there.”
Beck has said a ban on change rooms would make vulnerable kids more vulnerable and it’s appropriate for Moe to no longer make it his first priority.
“We’re going to continue to focus on the things that are most important to Saskatchewan people,” she said. “You always have to move forward, but you never forget what happened.”
After the election, Beck’s NDP nearly doubled its seat count in the legislature to 27, sweeping Regina, the northern region and all but one riding in Saskatoon. Moe’s Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, due to its strength in rural constituencies, and formed its fifth-straight majority government.
Beck said her party has more work to do to gain support from those outside the big cities.
The cost of living, health care, crime and education issues are top of mind among residents across the province, she said.
“I have a lot of confidence about our ability to win trust and show people of this province that this is truly a government in waiting,” said Beck.
Moe said he’s heard the message from voters that they want change, promising to do better on health care and education.
His government also recently passed affordability legislation that plans to reduce income taxes, saving an average family of four $3,400 over four years.
“There’s many people who have voted for us previously that didn’t this election, and so there’s some change that needs to happen,” he said.
“I think you saw much of that change reflective in the speech from the throne.”
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