REGINA — Tensions ran high at the legislature Monday as the government and Opposition both took turns attacking each other over education projects following last week’s provincial budget.
The issue that had the Opposition fired up was news last week that a number of approved school build projects had been put on pause. Those included the Campbell Collegiate major renovation and an elementary and secondary school in the Towns neighbourhood in Regina, as well as predesign for a school in Carlyle.
The NDP claimed there were rumours of upwards of 20 previously announced school builds being put on pause by the province. At a media event outside the legislature, Opposition Leader Carla Beck demanded transparency from the government about which projects weren’t going ahead.
“No more excuses. No more political games,” said Beck. “Release your homework. Release those lists. The least that the Premier can do in this situation is to be up front and transparent with the people of this province.”
Speaking to reporters later in the afternoon, when Premier Scott Moe was asked how many projects were being delayed or cancelled, he said “none.”
“There are no cancellations and no delays with respect to the school outbuild or any other piece of infrastructure outbuild in this province,” Moe said.
Moe said there are “factors that determine when we’re able to move forward with the funding, the investment for this type of infrastructure, whether it’s a school, whether it’s a hospital, whatever that might be.”
He pointed to the $4.3 billion capital infrastructure plan for the Government of Saskatchewan and said they are “asking everything that we can get out of the infrastructure building capacity, the companies that build things, whether it be schools, hospitals, whether it be mines, whether it be canola crush facilities in this province.”
But what they have seen, Moe said, is that it is “pushing up the price, the inflationary price of what capital infrastructure costs in this province.”
What the province is attempting is to “play a role where we are ensuring that we are not inadvertently pushing up the inflationary cost for every private sector and for the taxpayer-invested schools, hospitals, and such, by placing them in the queue when the market can handle the capacity that is currently here today. Now, this is a good problem, but it is a challenge, for sure.”
Education Minister Everett Hindley pointed to a number of projects that have been “announced and committed to by this government.”
He said the projects are being sequenced based on what is available for labour in the market.
“We have to be mindful of the ability for the labour market to be able to actually build these schools, in addition to all the other projects in the public sector but also in the private sector as well that we’ve referenced. But we also have to be able to afford to pay for all these things. Again, there’s an absolute commitment from this government that these projects, every single one of them that’s been announced, will be completed.”
Premier Moe further dismissed criticism by the Opposition about project delays, pointing out that the Opposition “refused to pass the Building Schools Faster Act just today when we asked for leave and to pass that bill through all stages today.”
Moe noted the Building Schools Faster Act was legislation brought in to “streamline the procurement of land, in particular in urban centres, but not limited to urban centres, so that there is land available for schools when that project is needed and when that project then can be funded.”
Moe also said it was not accurate to say 20 projects had been paused. What he would say was that 20 projects out of 109 are “in the queue” in various stages whether it be planning or land procurement. Moe said those projects would be moved to tender as soon as soon as capital dollars are freed up once the other projects are completed.
Moe said it is “not about reprioritizing, it’s not about delaying, it’s about working within the finite capital numbers that we have, which are some of the largest in the province’s history, and planning in a very methodical way so as to not push up the inflationary costs of building schools, being prudent with the taxpayers’ dollars, so we are getting the best bang for the dollar that we are investing.”
Shellbrook school controversy continues
That was not the only issue raised by the Opposition over education projects. The NDP also heightened its attacks on Moe for approving a school consolidation project for Shellbrook, his home community.
The NDP has claimed preferential treatment, saying many other schools were in far worse condition.
“We know that Scott Moe found the money in his budget for a brand new school in his own hometown,” said education critic Matt Love, while “ignoring more than 200 schools in 103 other communities in Saskatchewan that are in worse shape.”
NDP Leader Beck demanded the government “release of all internal documents that led to the approval of this Shellbrook school consolidation.”
“I think it’s time to demystify that capital list and start building back some trust with the people of this province. As it stands, this decision frankly stinks and as Matt said there are more than 200 schools and 103 communities that are in worse shape than this one.”
When the NDP raised the issue in question period, Moe accused the Opposition of fostering division between urban and rural areas.
He repeated those criticisms to reporters, calling those comments “really disappointing and quite divisive, but disappointing nonetheless, but we should expect no more after what we saw the last week.” Moe referred to controversy after the NDP campaign director Jeremy Nolais used the word “hate” in reference to four Sask. Party cabinet ministers in a fundraising email.
Moe added that taxpayers are “still compensating that individual as a chief of staff to the NDP leader, because she doesn’t have the courage to actually… do the right thing and fire him.”
As for the controversy over the Shellbrook school approval, Moe noted the school had been number one on the capital list of the local Saskatchewan Rivers school division “for a decade or a decade and a half.”
“And that’s who really, I would say, they are questioning when they’re trying to put forward these divisions between communities and more significantly between urban and rural centres.”
When asked if the school in Shellbrook was being replaced due to its condition or for efficiency, Moe replied “yes to both.” As for details on the condition of the school, Moe said “it rains inside, so there’s that.”
As for accusations from the NDP that approving the Shellbrook school was political favouritism, Moe pointed out his government “replaced over half of the schools in Carla Beck’s riding.”
