Len Taylor

Opposition NDP Caucus members to meet in The Battlefords

Saskatchewan’s official opposition MLAs, including former Premier Lorne Calvert will be in The Battlefords, August 18 and 19 to discuss policy prior to the fall sitting of the provincial Legislature.

Len Taylor, MLA for The Battlefords, says he is pleased that his NDP colleagues chose the Battlefords for the meeting because this northwest community is very representative of the state of the provincial economy and what the caucus learns here will apply to other communities across Saskatchewan.

“Its easy to see that the Sask Party government, which will have been in office for a full year this fall, is failing to understand how to manage this province’s newfound prosperity,” Taylor said, “People are seeing that the government has more money, but everyone is paying higher local taxes, higher utility rates, higher rents, and higher prices for food and for fuel. Not everyone is benefiting from our newfound wealth.

“We’ll be looking at the big issue of managing a prosperous province, but also looking at other issues of importance to Saskatchewan families. The overall goal is to ensure we are doing everything we can to make Saskatchewan even stronger”

Taylor, who is also the opposition House Leader in the Legislature, said that while in The Battlefords his caucus colleagues would also be taking some time to get to know the community better.

“This is very important to me because when I raise issues about The Battlefords in Regina my caucus colleagues will have first hand knowledge of what I am talking about. This will be very useful for getting things done in the interests of the people of The Battlefords,” Taylor said. -2-

While in the Battlefords the MLAs of the NDP caucus will spend an evening with party members and others over dinner to talk about individual issues. They will also spend an afternoon meeting with community groups and members. They expect to meet with area Mayors, representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, and individuals and groups who are working on issues such as immigration, housing, health, tourism, and economic development.

The fall sitting of the Legislature begins on October 22, 2008.