Tom Graham, President, CUPE Saskatchewan

CUPE Saskatchewan President, Tom Graham, responds to recent comments made by Saskatoon mayoral candidate Kelley Moore.

Message from the President

With the Saskatoon civic election just around the corner, it is concerning that mayoral candidate Kelley Moore has stated she plans to address a budget shortfall by delivering a tax break to business and won’t rule out job cuts to city staff.

Unaffordable tax breaks at times of needed investment and cutting jobs and therefore services for citizens are the same tired errors of the past, and create a worsening financial position over the long term.

Similar ‘hold the line on taxes’ attitudes have led to crumbling infrastructure and the lack of necessary maintenance. After all, municipalities are responsible for the majority of public infrastructure. Public services we all rely on have also suffered from underfunding leading to, for instance, the less than adequate transit service we have today. I will give credit to the existing council for beginning to address this situation so that future generations have a modern city in which to live, but Moore seems to want to move us backwards.

When Moore speaks about delivering a tax break for business under the guise of tax fairness, she conveniently neglects the reality that businesses in Saskatoon already contribute a smaller percentage of civic revenues compared to other cities according to several studies and even pro-business organizations. When Moore speaks about a plan to cut staff, she fails to be upfront about which services Saskatoon citizens will see cut as a result.

Let’s not vote into office someone who supports a short-term, let-it-crumble and we’ll pay for it later attitude.

TOM GRAHAM | President, CUPE Saskatchewan

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