LLOYDMINSTER – The Saskatchewan United Party says this election is a referendum on Scott Moe’s record of managing the province, and it is campaigning on cutting the PST in half, axing the gas tax and cutting property taxes for seniors.

In reaction to the election call Tuesday, the Sask United party said in a media release the Saskatchewan United Party is the only conservative option for voters.

The party says that under Scott Moe, Saskatchewan people are under some of the highest financial stress in Canada. The release stated violent crime rates are the highest out of all the provinces, with Saskatchewan at a 25-year record high.

It went on to say public services are in crisis, knee and hip surgeries have the highest wait time in the country, residents can’t find family doctors, and ERs are closed on weekends.

The party also points to bureaucratic salaries growing 23 per cent over the last five years, amounting to a $1.4 billion expense increase, and cost overruns of capital projects, like the $600 million cost overrun on the Prince Albert Hospital.

Sask United Leader Jon Hromek says he is committed to bold affordability measures of cutting the PST in half from 6 per cent to 3 per cent, axing the provincial 15 cent-a-litre gas tax, and cutting property tax by 65 per cent for seniors 65 and older.

Hromek, the former president and CEO of the largest Saskatchewan headquartered oil company, believes private sector style management is needed to clean up the waste in government and get it back to its original mandate: providing the highest quality services to the public for the lowest possible cost.

“We are looking at full-blown audits of every department and ministry to find where public dollars are being mismanaged and streamline efficiencies,” said Hromek.

“At the end of the day, this election is about Scott Moe and the Sask Party’s record. In the last six years under Premier Moe, our roads are worse, the safety of our communities is worse, affordability and the cost of living is worse, our education is on life support and our healthcare system has flatlined. We need a change of management in the province to address these issues head-on and top-down through all the ministries and departments. I firmly believe we can fix these issues with serious, proven leaders who possess the management skills that are necessary. And that certainly is not the NDP,” Hromek added. “Saskatchewan needs a real conservative solution for every issue facing our province, and that’s exactly what Sask United is here to do.”

The Sask United Party has released its Blueprint for Change which can be found here: saskunited.ca/platform