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Tell us about yourself and why you got involved in politics.
I’m Blaine McLeod, and I'm a dairy farmer from just West of Moose Jaw. My dairy farm is on the south side of the highway at Caronport, and I've had the pleasure of being involved in the dairy industry for over 40 years, 43 to be exact.
It has been a joy in my life to be able to produce food for our nation and that that is part of the reason why I chose to become an MLA is to make sure that the business environment for both our farm and for all agricultural farms in the province continues to be strong and to represent the interests of a very rural riding which also has some small towns in it, and some bigger cities as well, attached to it.
Lumsden being the biggest, it's a great community there. I just (want) to make sure that I leave the province in a better place than I found it. It's been a bit of my mantra, and to really deliver for the people of Lumsden-Morse.
What are the key issues for your constituents in this election?
The whole mindset of making sure that the economy is strong and growing and thriving and doing everything that we can as a government. To make sure that we're not putting up roadblocks for people to move forward with their business plans making sure our entrepreneurship is strong and alive and growing, and then to use that growth and that economy to make sure that the future is bright for us as residents of this constituency.
To make sure that the schools are strong, that hospitals and healthcare is strong, be able to make those investments. So, it all is underpinned by a growing economy that allows us to build and make those things available for everyone.
What is your take on the housing situation in Saskatchewan?
Housing is super important; everybody should have a roof over their head and a place to call home. I believe we've made some very, very positive moves to strengthen hat housing environment, to allow for tax credits in in a number of different ways in the housing industry.
Those moves, I believe, are going to situate us fairly well to move forward and make sure that housing is there, those that are less fortunate and potentially in vulnerable situations, absolutely, we need to be providing for that, and I think we've seen good moves in that regard as well.
Especially on the senior side of things, with the Personal Care Home Benefit allowance that's been increased and strengthened, that's a very positive thing, allowing more people to live their lives together in care homes. I think that is going to be a really, really terrific benefit.
What is your stance regarding healthcare?
Healthcare is absolutely a very significant part of what our platform involves, and healthcare is by far the biggest cost in our provincial budget. $7.6 billion this year, 38% of the provincial budget is spent on healthcare in its various forms.
Including mental health, which I think is super, super important, the insidious poison that is driving a lot of the mental health issues, the addictions getting in front of that and providing places of recovery for those that are stricken with addiction.
Making sure that we're providing for them on the healthcare delivery side as well, we need to be ensuring that we're attracting and retaining good physicians and nurses. We have some tremendous incentive programs to help in rural Saskatchewan that are making a difference.
The use of nurse practitioners is something that we're working hard to move forward on and that has already benefited a number of communities in our constituency that are looking forward to having their first nurse practitioner as well. We're making strides, lots to be done, and we're committed to the task of ensuring that Saskatchewan has healthcare that's ready and accessible for everyone.
What would you like to see done in matters of policing and public safety?
I'm very much on the page that we're working towards a solid commitment to reducing crime and making life much more manageable for all of us as citizens of this province.
No one should feel unsafe, and so making sure that our RCMP is fully funded – which we're doing – and bringing in lots more municipal officers, a commitment of another hundred officers made, along with what's already been done for Moose Jaw, that means eight police officers that are fully funded by the province.
Those things are making an impact and our Marshals Service to be sure that we can respond to hot spots to areas where we can collaborate and contribute to what the RCMP is doing as well, not working against but working with them. I think we're going to see some good things come out of that as it's fully developed and enforced by 2026.
How would a Saskatchewan Party Government grow the economy?
By making sure we have the right regulations in place that don't overburden mining, forestry, and any other sector in our province that that we rely on for, for resource revenue and to be sure that we keep a royalty structure that allows the investment to continue to flow in our province and continue the good things that are happening already.
Making sure that that agriculture remains strong as the backbone of our economy and that means potentially making some moves in in crop insurance to ensure that we're doing the right things for people.
Making sure the investment climate is positive for our farming folks as well and keeping them strong because that's the backbone and strength of our rural communities, which I see is super important in the constituency that I have and many across the province as well.
I think what we're doing is making sure that the economy remains strong in our province and having the ability to move forward in that vein with the good things that are needed in our province to deal with the issues that are there.
You have to have the dollars to be able to address it in a sustainable manner. We don't ever want to go deeper and further into debt. So, that's the focus of our Sask Party Government.