Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) will soon have its $100 rebate checks in the mail, but the people who stuff the envelopes will be private contractors working from Ontario.
The union representing SGI employees believes it’s wrong for the government to send work out of province.
“So this government just does not seem to respect the crown employees and the people of Saskatchewan deserve better. The government should be working to increase jobs here, not in other provinces,” said Stephanie Kerr, president for COPE Local 397.
SGI will be issuing about 700,000 rebate checks this spring and believes no one in Saskatchewan can handle a job that big.
”It’s the same firm that does it for SaskEnergy and SaskPower. If there was a business that did it in province, we’d certainly use them,” Don Morgan, minister in charge of SGI said.
The Ontario contractor will charge about $1 for each check printed and mailed, postage included. The opposition NDP feel the job should be handled in house at SGI, or at least somewhere in Saskatchewan.
“If the government wants to claim that the only way to print checks is to do so in Ontario, I have a number of companies in the province with people who live in the province, work in the province and pay their rent and mortgage in the province who would like to talk to them,” NDP MLA Aleana Young said.
The checks will offer a financial break to motorists, regardless of where the envelopes are postmarked. SGI aims to have these mailed out in the spring of 2022 but have not provided a specific date yet.