Today NDP House Leader Kevin Yates questioned why the Wall government is boasting of SGI license plate sales when it callously hurt a Saskatchewan small business in the process. Yates said the Wall Government failed to mention that the General License Plate Contract is no longer in the hands of a local Saskatchewan company which held the contract since 1971. SGI awarded the new contract to a larger company in Nova Scotia – Waldale Manufacturing Ltd.

“We have seen this type of decision before with the Wall government in its tendering process. Instead of keeping jobs and work within Saskatchewan, it would rather provide big business opportunities to contractors outside Saskatchewan borders. How is this helping our already shrinking economy?” Yates asked. “It’s probable that this local company will now have to lay off up to 40 per cent of their work force as a result of losing this contract for the want of as little as .34 cents a plate. That’s a major blow to any business”.

Yates said that “Small business owners are becoming more and more despondent to the tendering process and the decisions of the Wall Government. How can these businesses compete with larger outside contractors that don’t contribute much, if anything, to the economy of this province? While small business owners are seeing their work, and their profits dry up, the Wall government spins tales of a booming economy and high sales. When will the Wall government recognize that it is hurting Saskatchewan’s economy and small business owners with its decisions?”

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