 Cheantelle Fisher, Carla Beck, and Melissa Patterson encourage voter participation (photo by Gordon Edgar).jpg)
Moose Jaw’s NDP candidates — Cheantelle Fisher for Moose Jaw North, and Melissa Patterson for Moose Jaw Wakamow — were joined at their Athabasca Street campaign office this morning by NDP leader Carla Beck to encourage participation at the polls.
The press conference echoed remarks from Fisher and Patterson yesterday outside the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Fisher said, “people in Moose Jaw will be able to cast their vote in advance for the provincial election, at spots like the Moose Jaw Events Centre behind us.
“As a mom with three kids, advance polls are an easy option for me to make sure my voice is heard, and I can fit it in my schedule. Having the option to pop in for five minutes to cast my ballot during a time that works for me takes the pressure off the rest of my day.”
Fisher and Patterson said they would, of course, prefer voters choose them — but they added that voting is every eligible person’s right, and should be exercised either way.
Early polls are available from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations for Moose Jaw Wakamow:
- Moose Jaw Events Centre
- 110 1st Avenue Northwest
- Cosmo Senior Citizens’ Centre
- 235 3rd Avenue Northeast
- Sportsman’s Centre Event Hall
- 276 Home Street East
- Church of Our Lady Community Centre
- 566 Vaughan Street
- Sacred Heart School
- 1020 12th Avenue Southwest
The following locations are the early polling stations for Moose Jaw North:
- Moose Jaw Alliance Church
- 14 Neslia Place
- New Life Centre
- 916 Brown Street
- Moose Jaw Wildlife Centre
- 1396 3rd Ave. NE.
Go to Elections.sk.ca and enter your street address to find the most convenient place and time to vote.
“As people in Moose Jaw head to advance polls this week, I want them to think of one question: Are you ready for change?” said Melissa Patterson. “Because what I keep hearing more and more from people on the doorsteps is ‘yes’.
“People want change because they’re tired of not being able to find a family doctor. They're tired of waiting hours and hours to get the care they need in emergency rooms or waiting months, sometimes even years, for much needed surgery. People in Moose Jaw are tired of our increasing crime rates, and they're tired of the cost of the basics they need every day going up and up.”
At the NDP campaign office, NDP Leader Carla Beck reiterated her party’s campaign promises while offering scathing commentary on news that Sask Party MLA Gary Grewal was found to be in violation of conflict-of-interest laws.
She was also asked about Sask Party leader Scott Moe’s response to the NDP releasing a recording of Darlene Rowden, Sask Party candidate for Batoche, criticizing the government’s education funding decisions.
“Mr. Moe, if he doesn’t like what people are saying, then he should have taken the opportunity at some point over the last 17 years to fix these things,” Beck said. “This is why people are looking for change. And again, every vote is going to matter. People have the opportunity this election, starting today, to get out there and vote.”
The NDP platform includes major commitments in healthcare and education spending, including full staffing for Moose Jaw’s hyperbaric chamber; a day one cut to the provincial gas tax and a PST cut on groceries and kids’ clothing by Christmas; and a new elementary school in Moose Jaw to replace St. Michael’s.
Beck also took the opportunity to level criticism at Moe over recent claims by Dennis Fitzpatrick. Formerly the board chair of the Saskatchewan Research Council, Fitzpatrick said he was fired after blowing the whistle on possible government corruption.
“This should not stand,” Beck said. “People need to know that their elected officials are treating public dollars with respect, that those dollars are going to benefit Saskatchewan people.”
The last day of the provincial election is Oct. 28. On election day, Moose Jaw Wakamow constituents will vote at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, Cosmo Senior Citizen's Centre, the Sportsman's Centre, Church of Our Lady, or Sacred Heart School and Moose Jaw North constituents will vote at the Moose Jaw Alliance Church, New Life Centre or the Moose Jaw Wildlife Centre.