Cumberland MLA Doyle Vermette has a message for voters heading into this spring’s Saskatchewan provincial election: don’t count out the New Democrats.
“I’ve seen other provinces and jurisdictions where they’ve said the underdog was not going to make it,” he says.
“When the public decides they no longer support a government and they see things going on that they don’t like and don’t care for, it can change things real quick. So looking at that, I’m feeling pretty positive.”
Vermette will again be the NDP candidate for Cumberland, a vast, sparsely populated riding that includes Creighton, Denare Beach, Pelican Narrows and other communities spanning the northeastern corner of Saskatchewan.
Undeterred by polls suggesting the NDP will do only marginally better than its nine-seat performance in 2011, he touts a populist platform that calls for more provincial wealth to be shared with northern Saskatchewan.
“A lot of [government revenue] comes from the North and very little comes back to the North, and people are unhappy with that,” Vermette says.
In the Creighton area, Vermette has for months focused on efforts to secure a long-term care facility for seniors – a proposal endorsed by town council and many residents.
“We want a facility here to keep our loved ones here with us,” he says.
If re-elected, Vermette says he would continue to work with the community to fight for a long-term care facility.
Vermette says he is also lobbying for a group home for intellectually disabled residents in Creighton and Denare Beach, a project that has drawn interest from parents of individuals who require such care.
Expanded northern cell service is another need, in his view.
“Very few areas down south don’t have access to cell service,” Vermette says.
Lack of cell service is a safety issue along the Hanson Lake Road (Highway 106) between Creighton and Prince Albert, he says.
“Maybe there’s a type of system you can put up where people have cell service for a certain period of time [along the highway],” Vermette says. “For an emergency, they know they can get to [that location] and make a call.”
In terms of the school system, Vermette says he is concerned that the Saskatchewan Party government has chosen not to release a new education budget until after the election.
“We wonder...are there going to be more cuts?” he says.
As it is, Vermette says, classrooms are overcrowded and schools lack resources.
“Some school divisions might do a little better than others, and maybe they have some reserve [funding] they’ll use up, and that’s great,” he says. “But at the end of the day you have to make sure [students and staff] have the resources [for the] quality education that our students deserve in northern Saskatchewan.”
For Vermette, affordable living is key. He speaks against a 2014 provincial decision to boost rents at government-owned seniors’ housing facilities by one to three percentage points.
“We have to make sure we’re not forgetting about our seniors, who have fought the battle and done the work that we asked them to do over years,” he says. “Now it’s their time to be taken care of.”
Vermette succeeded Joan Beatty as Cumberland MLA in a June 2008 by-election. A former school trustee and alderman in Air Ronge, he easily retained the seat in the 2011 general election.
In the current legislature, he serves as opposition whip and critic for Northern Saskatchewan, SGI and STC. He is also associate critic for First Nations and Métis Relations.
While he doesn’t dismiss the idea of an NDP win on April 4, Vermette knows victory would not come easily.
“We know we’ve got a big fight on our hands, but also you feel that confidence,” he says. “I’ve had people tell me, whether I’m on the doorstep or talking with them, ‘I supported [the Saskatchewan Party] the first time, the second time, but I don’t think I’m going to be supporting [them] this time.’”
Vermette adds that he is committed to working for all constituents.
“I don’t really care which party they vote for, support, whatever,” he says. “At the end of the day…I will make sure that I represent their needs, their interests and speak and be a voice for them.”
