Two Billboards Inside Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Nick Murray

Recently, The Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union (SGEU) paid to put up a series of billboards all around the province calling out, by name, MLA's who voted in favour of cuts they disagree with.

Two of those billboards are right here in Moose Jaw. Both Greg Lawrence, MLA for Moose Jaw-Wakamow and Warren Michelson, MLA for Moose Jaw North now have their names plastered on signs, for everyone to see, followed by the following statement: "You voted for cuts that hurt workers, school kids and seniors. Turn the cuts around."

Billboard, in front of the Greyhound Station, on High St.

Bob Bymoen, SGEU's President said "we've decided to run a number of billboards in different constituencies, reminding people that these politicians ordered cuts. Cuts to education, resulting in less aids and a lower standard of education. This government cut six-hundred jobs in the public sector" he added.

The list of cuts SGEU is bemoaning includes, but is not limited to:
$54 million cut from schools
$30 million cut from post-secondary students
$8 million from scholarships and student aid
$32 million from buses, public parks and hockey rinks
The elimination of the STC
Hundreds of workers whose jobs were lost
The elimination of the Hearing Aid Plan
Fee hikes for long-term care residents
The elimination of Orthotic and podiatry services
Daycare funding cuts for disabled children
34% cut to the capital budget for wildlife management

For a full listing of the cuts SGEU is referring to 

"All the bad decisions in last year's budget; we just want to remind them what they voted for and to remind the voters what they voted for" said Bymoen, adding, "we want to remind people that it wasn't just the Finance Minister who voted for this; and it wasn't just the Premier. MLA's in a number of cities did, and also in rural Saskatchewan. At the same time they offered tax breaks to corporations."

Billboard, on Thatcher St., near Peavy Mart

SGEU has offered what they call "a better way" to operate, which includes, but is not limited to:

Implementing "fair taxation"
Reversing tax breaks for the wealthiest people
Boosting corporate taxes
Ditching costly megaprojects, like the Regina bypass
Cutting the amount of MLA's in government
Rolling back recent pay hikes for politicians
End the selling of public assets

Here is the full list of SGEU's Options for Increasing Costs and Cutting Revenues 

MJ Independent contacted both MLA Greg Lawrence and MLA Warren Michelson, but neither would comment.

The end game for SGEU, Bymoen claims is simply "to remind them that what they did was wrong and that we want to have a more caring budget. We want to reverse these cuts."