ELECTION 2016: Meet Rob Feist

So, with regard to children under the age of 18 and young children, we’re really concerned about education. Education is a huge thing and we’ve seen constant Sask. Party incremental cuts on the education front. We want to put more money back in the front lines, in classrooms, hire 300 new teachers, hire 300 EAs [educational assistants]. Support for young people and support for children is a really huge thing for us. As far as child care, we want to create 2,000 new childcare spaces across the province which is going to be excellent, not just for families, but for the economy, because when we have people who can access affordable childcare we will see more people out in the economy working, and it’s just a benefit to everyone.

With regard to families it’s very important to us as New Democrats to see the cost of living be an affordable cost of living in this province and right now I hear every day on the doorsteps that it’s not. I hear that people simply can’t make ends meet and find it very difficult to make ends meet in this community. What we want to do on that front is to reduce taxes for 70 per cent of Saskatchewan families by increasing the basic personal exemption. And we also want to lower the cost of utilities by going to lowest common bundle. Putting more money back in the pockets of Saskatchewan families is a winner for business, it’s a winner for families and it’s a winner for the province.

With regard to seniors, seniors again face an affordability crunch, and I really, in my mind, divide seniors into two groups: those who are still in their homes and are still in their homes; and those who are no longer in their homes. Those who are in their homes we’re supporting by creating a system where they can defer their property taxes in the same form as a home income plan until such time as the home is sold. And what I think that’ll really do, creating that deferment of taxes, will keep people in their homes longer and really reduce the cost of living because property taxes are such a huge thing across the province, really reduce the cost of living for Saskatchewan seniors who are living in their homes [sic]. For those who have left their homes and have gone into care, we want to, again, direct more resources to the front lines of care. I am so afraid, and I’ve talked to seniors who are so afraid, and my mother is getting to where she may need care over the next couple of years. People are worried about leaving their homes and going into care because they fear that it’s warehouse care. And I talked to care workers, who do an excellent job, who are focused on delivering the best result to people they possibly can. They don’t have enough resources on the front lines. They simply don’t. And we want to direct those resources away from consultants, away from bureaucrats, and put them on the front lines of care, so that people in our seniors care homes have the best possible experience.

DCB: Great. And so for the second question: What could be done to reduce the crime rate in North Battleford?

RF: I’ve spoken extensively about crime, and I’m pretty informed on crime in the community. I used to live on 107th Street; I owned a little house there. I remember waking up one morning and police tape—well I should say I woke up at four in the morning, heard a bang, fell back asleep—there was police tape on the street when I woke up the next morning. There had been a shooting at a family’s home down the street. I take that pretty seriously. And I think that we know that the crime rate in Battleford and North Battleford on the Saskatchewan Party’s watch has done nothing but go up. It’s great that we have a strong police force and strong Community Safety Officers here. We need to really focus on front end crime prevention solutions: we need to focus on a provincial poverty strategy; we need to focus on a provincial housing strategy; and we need to really make sure we are looking at the front end. I think the Lighthouse has been excellent solution in the community. I think the Lighthouse has provided one of those front end solutions and I think that moving to a more proactive approach on crime really benefits the whole community. I think that’s it on that question; yeah.

DCB: So for the third question: What’s your opinion of public/private partnerships like the one being used to build the new Saskatchewan Hospital?

RF: Public/private partnerships are essentially a credit card. And I say a credit card because they come with credit card interest. We used to build things in this province that were paid for on the front end, that didn’t burden our children and our grandchildren, but that were paid for up-front. The foreign corporation that’s [sic] been handed the contract to build the Sask. Hospital is going to take profit on the Sask. Hospital. They’re not in it for anything but profit, and they’re going to take that profit out of our province. We are burdening our community and our province with $6 million per year in payments. Six million dollars a year is more than the maintenance budget for all other Prairie North facilities combined. So we’re going to be paying that huge sum out every year. It is just a down the road burden and it is foolish to run government on a credit card.

DCB: So for the fourth question, given the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s findings, does our education system adequately teach students about residential school and First Nations issues in general?

RF: I think that it is absolutely important that people know our history as a province and the history of First Nations in our province and residential schools are a big component of that. Should we be providing the maximum amount of information to students on that issue that we possibly can? Absolutely. I think it’s very important to heal as a community and I think that healing as a community requires us to acknowledge what’s happened in the past and be aware of it. I think First Nations issues are key to Saskatchewan New Democrats, we find them very important, and while we are on the topic of First Nations education, I think it’s important to recognize that on reserve school are funded to 60 per cent of city schools. And, it really concerns me, looking at the underfunding of on reserve schools. That we would give any child in Saskatchewan 60 per cent of what we deem an appropriate education [sic]. The Sask. Party has made jurisdictional arguments, which I don’t buy. We, as Saskatchewan people, should build our economy and should build our workforce, to the best possible extent, and building First Nations education—excuse me—building well educated First Nations communities is going to be a huge part of that and that’s what New Democrats are going to stand for.

DCB: Great, and so for the fifth question, given the importance of the energy sector in this area, what would you do to improve conditions for natural resource development?

RF: The energy sector in this area is absolutely critical and it is something that New Democrats hold close to their heart [sic]. I speak every day and I’m a lawyer; I speak every day to folks who have suffered and who have lost jobs and who are underemployed as a result of the oil downturn. We certainly need to provide the best possible support to our energy sector. There are a couple of things that the New Democrats want to do: First we should dispel any myth that New Democrats are unsupportive of well-planned pipelines. We certainly see that there is a need for environmental assessment. We certainly see that there is a need for social and economic assessment. But it is critical for people to be aware that New Democrats are not anti-pipeline, but are rather pro-pipeline, in the sense of getting our product to market in the most reasonable way we possibly can. Certainly Energy East is something that New Democrats have been supportive of because it has gone through that rigorous triple assessment. Pipelines are a solution to get the energy we have now to market, but also New Democrats want to build a green economy. We want to build 60 per cent of our energy sector on renewable resources and have good green jobs going forward in the long term.

I’ll also say that I think it’s pretty important to consider that we often send our resources out of the province for refining. It is important, and not just with oil and not just with the energy sector, but it is important to look at and to tax incentivise keeping resources here for second and third order processing. Building those jobs and building jobs here as a bulwark against the ups and downs of a commodity economy [sic]. So I think that’s something that I’d certainly be pushing for as we move forward and as we move into the new legislature.

DCB: Where do you stand on how we provide temporary shelter to the homeless–ie. The Lighthouse?

RF: The lighthouse has been a big concern of mine. I had the pleasure of participating in the Coldest Night of the Year Walk. I know a number of people who work over at The Lighthouse; I’ve been to The Lighthouse and seen just the tremendous good that it does for this community. The Lighthouse is a huge resource here. It really does do the front end work of preventing crime, preventing people from ending up in the social services sector, prevents higher health care costs, and ultimately gets people off the street. It is the type of front end solution that we need. Cam Broten was here a couple of days ago; he certainly talked about moving to—you know, and the hope is we will move to—a core funding model, so down the road we would certainly be looking to ensure that the lighthouse stays open, is appropriately funded, and that it continues to provide the services we need in our community.

DCB: What are the pros and cons of privatizing the liquor store in North Battleford—sorry, in Battleford? Should the North Battleford store be privatized? And others?

RF: New Democrats certainly stand against the privatization of liquor stores. If you look around the province there are profitable liquor stores across our province. And certainly I look at Lloydminster as example of a profitable liquor store next to a ton of private liquor stores. It just doesn’t make sense that the profits that come out of our Saskatchewan liquor stores would go to private corporations. Additionally in a community that faces issues with crime, giving up control of our liquor sales to private companies seems to me to be a little bit risky. So, I would give you a 100 per cent, I stand against the privatization of our liquor stores. We need to keep liquor public, and keep those profits, and keep those benefits for our communities, as opposed to out of province corporations.

DCB: Is enough being done to recognize issues with mental health? What more can be done?

RF: Not enough is being done to recognize issues with mental health. Certainly, we need a comprehensive provincial mental health strategy; New Democrats have a comprehensive provincial mental health strategy. One of the big things is providing and looking at front end things with youth and front end solutions for youth who face mental health challenges. New Democrats want to cost out eight visits to a mental health practitioner for young people, per year, and actually provide the support that people need in the mental health system. Again I turn back to the difficulty that we see with more money faced away from the front lines and provided to consultants and bureaucrats. We need more front end mental health practitioners; we need better front end mental health services; and New Democrats are intent on providing those things.

DCB: Premier Brad Wall is against a federal tax on carbon emissions, saying it’s far too costly on the Saskatchewan economy. If not a carbon tax, what can the province do to combat the emissions—especially from its two biggest emitters, Sask. Power and Sask. Energy?

RF: I think we should be cautious in the short term about any sort of a carbon tax. I think that we certainly need to ensure that anything that we do recognizes both the need for a strong economy and a strong environment. I believe that moving forward, we as the people of Saskatchewan are going to a greener economy. And I think that the New Democratic plan to build green jobs in this province, to move to 60 per cent renewable resource energy, is the plan that will move us forward. And, I think I’d leave that question there.

DCB: Ok. And for the last question, at what point would a disagreement with your party result in your resignation?

RF: Our party is a pretty big tent, and I am very proud to be a New Democrat. One thing that I really love about being a New Democrat, and really love about working with Cam Broten is that we have a range of voices that are taken into account. We certainly have one message, and one vision for the province, but that does not mean I can’t speak about local issues; that doesn’t mean I’m afraid to say the wrong thing, or stand up for my community. So I don’t really foresee a disagreement with my party happening—at least to the extent that anything would come to me leaving the party. I think we are an open party, and I think an open party brings in new people, new ideas, new visions, and that’s really what democracy is all about.

I contrast that with the—maybe the closed—vision that the Sask. Party has. I contrast it with a very top down approach, and I’m just so proud to work with Cam Broten and to see someone who really looks around for answers, as opposed to having yes men and yes women behind him.

dcairnsbrenner@jpbg.ca

by Duncan Cairns-Brenner

ELECTION 2016: Meet Rob Feist

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