'There are lines': In year-end interview, NDP leader says Moe went too far in election campaign

Saskatchewan’s two main political leaders had agreed before October's provincial election not to target the families of candidates during the campaign, says Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck.

Saskatchewan’s two main political leaders had agreed before October's provincial election not to target the families of candidates during the campaign, says Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck.

It was a commitment she says was broken.

In a recent year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Beck said she and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe had promised one another they would keep families out of partisan attacks.

It was a step too far when the children of an NDP candidate were tied to a Saskatchewan Party campaign promise over change rooms, she said.

“The premier and I don’t have a lot of time to speak (to one another). But we do on occasion often speak about families, the need to have vigorous debate. There are lines that we shouldn’t cross. One of those lines that we’ve discussed is around not bringing families into this,” Beck said.

“It’s a commitment that I expected him to honour. It’s a commitment that people in the province would understand is necessary.

“It’s a bar that never should have been crossed.”