Avi Lewis met with First Nations leaders in the Qu’Appelle Valley, won’t see Carla Beck
Federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis visited the Star Blanket Cree Nation in Lebret, Sask., on Thursday, meeting with First Nations leaders before heading to Regina on his first national tour.
Saskatchewan is where the federal NDP got its start, and it’s where newly elected Leader Avi Lewis chose to begin his first national tour.
Lewis met with leaders of the Star Blanket Cree Nation in Lebret on Thursday before heading to Regina.
But the visit to the small village about 70 kilometres northeast of Regina came amid an undercurrent of tensions caused by differences of opinion on fossil fuels.
In March, Lewis declared his opposition to new fossil fuel development, a position that puts him at odds with the provincial branch of the party in Saskatchewan.
Provincial NDP Leader Carla Beck called the stance ideological and unrealistic, saying it ignores the realities faced by workers in the province and puts jobs at risk.
Lewis’s opposition to new fossil fuel developments is the primary point of disagreement with provincial NDP leaders in the Prairies, where the energy sector is a major employer and economic driver.
Beck had previously written in an open letter that she declined a meeting request from Lewis over his energy policies, which she wrote jeopardized “$13.6 billion in economic activity annually in Saskatchewan.”
Lewis said Thursday that the two leaders have met privately and the conversation was productive.
“She really wanted me to understand that there’s a grid and growth strategy from the provincial NDP here in Saskatchewan,” Lewis said.
“She wanted me to read it. I have read it. There was a lot of common ground, a lot of things we agreed on in that platform. There are some differences as well, but those differences are healthy.”
Beck will not be meeting him during his visit to the province. She said her focus is on holding the Sask. Party government accountable over the cost of its decision to continue relying on coal for power generation.
“My calendar right now is pretty much built around this issue — this extreme coverup,” Beck said. “$26 billion, doubling power rates in this province.”
Lewis is expected to continue his Saskatchewan tour on Friday.
With files from Laura Sciarpelletti