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The NDP Opposition in Saskatchewan continues to press the government for pre-Christmas spending relief in the face of rising prices. NDP Leader Carla Beck continues to urge the Sask Party government to axe the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing in the holiday season.
“Hardworking parents and grandparents are already worried about affording gifts to make Christmas special this year,” Beck said. “This is targeted relief that could be implemented right away. Essential items like clothes for kids should never have been taxed in the first place.”
The Sask Party denied the NDP’s emergency motion to permanently remove the PST on clothing items for kids. A release from the New Democrats states that since the introduction of the tax in 2017, more than $22 million dollars have come out of family pocketbooks. The release also states that more than two-thirds of Saskatchewan families have reported being under financial strain.
Beck remained critical of other cost saving motions that haven’t met favour with the government. Those include cutting the gas tax, cutting the PST on groceries, and investigating the high prices of food it the north, which the Opposition says has led to a reemergence of scurvy.
“People who’ve never struggled before are now working two or three jobs just to make ends meet,” she said. “Relief is needed right now – not fifteen months from now.”