May 7, 2018

The Sask. Party’s claim that this province is the best place to work and live if you have a disability doesn’t hold water when you consider the facts. The Sask. Party’s own statistics show that since 2013-14, there are 92 fewer people with disabilities working across government – a reduction of 27 per cent.

“This reduction in opportunities for people with disabilities is just not acceptable,” said NDP Diversity, Equality and Human Rights Critic David Forbes. “It is disappointing that the Sask. Party suggests they are making Saskatchewan a better place for people with disabilities but the reality is that fewer and fewer people with disabilities are working for the government every year.”

Every ministry reported a decline in employees with disabilities, except for one but they only increased by a single employee. The overall size of the public service for Full Time Equivalents has been reduced at a much slower rate.

“It’s well-known that the Sask. Party has made public service workers a target of their heartless cuts, but it’s not fair that workers with disabilities are bearing disproportionate share of the reductions,” said Forbes. “Considering the Sask. Party’s budgetary decisions that have harmed the province’s most vulnerable, they should be focused on creating more opportunities for workers with disabilities.”