Sask NDP is asking Premier Scott Moe to shut down an online petition calling for a referendum on leaving Canada, saying he is giving the independence movement “a free pass” at a volatile moment for national unity.The petition by Nadine Ness and her Unified Grassroots organization asks the province to “negotiate new terms for Saskatchewan’s relationship, whether inside Canada or as an independent nation.” Sask NDP Jobs and Economy Critic Aleana Young said Monday the premier’s hesitation opens the door to President Donald Trump’s latest talk of turning Canada into the fifty-first state. Inside the legislature, Sask NDP Deputy Leader Vicki Mowat pressed the issue. “Will the premier call Nadine Ness today and ask her to stop trying to break up the country?” Mowat asked during question period..Deputy Premier Jim Reiter replied the province would not silence citizens. “Whether we agree with their opinion or not, they have a right to voice it,” said Reiter. “Members on this side are not interested in separation.”Sask NDP says that answer is not good enough. They point to Ness’s past access to the premier, when Moe spoke with her for an hour in 2021 amid public health concerns over COVID-19 lockdowns, as evidence “separatists” have influence inside the governing Sask Party. .“Barely six months after nearly losing the election, the Sask Party is again cowtowing to the fringes of its base,” said Young. “That is a stunning failure of leadership.”Ness responded to the Sask NDP attacks and told the Western Standard that “of course they are. They don’t like that I’m giving people a voice.”“If it was up to the NDP they would bring in the entire liberal agenda on Saskatchewan,” said Ness.“There is no difference between the natural resource destroying net zero Liberal agenda and the NDP. I’m going to give a voice to those wanting to stand between the NDP and their insane leftist agenda intent on destroying our province and our way of life. They are the entity trying to bring more of Ottawa into our province. They don’t want the people to have a voice, they want to rule over them instead of serve them.”.The petition had collected several thousand signatures by late Monday. It’s similar to a petition in Alberta, where Premier Danielle Smith is lowering the bar for referendums and where tens of thousands have already signed a call to leave Canada.Young warned Saskatchewan’s economy would suffer if talk of independence continues. “We need to be uniting Canada and building infrastructure from coast to coast,” said Young. “Instead, the premier is flirting with radicals who no longer want to be Canadian.”Moe has said multiple times that he wants Saskatchewan to stay in Canada.
