Sask. Party attacks NDP candidate for old song lyrics, NDP leader says focus should be on current issues

The SaskatchewanParty went on the offensive Tuesday, calling out a SaskatchewanNDP candidate for lyricsin music he has previously performed as part of bands and as a solo artist. NDP Leader Carla Beck responded by saying the Sask. Party should focus on more pressing matters.

The Sask. Party said in a news release that Estevan-Big Muddy NDP candidate Phil Smith had used "misogynistic, pro-drugs and pro-crime lyrics."

"Made for cocaine bumping, that's right dog, Phil the type to hit upper sized rocks for the guaranteed plus sized broads," the artist identified as Phil Smith rapson the eight-year-old track Fred Durston the streaming platform SoundCloud.

CBC News has reviewed some of the lyrics the Sask. Party says are sexually explicit and glorifydrugs, drug trafficking, crime and prison, but it was not immediately clear whether Smith wrote or sang all of them himself. Many of the songs date back as far as a decade.

• Watch more Sask. election coverage, including full news conferences, onCBC Saskatchewan's YouTube page.

Asked about the songs Tuesday, Beck said the NDP is looking to focus on health care, crime rates and the cost of living, not song lyrics.

"I can't imagine what that feels like,to hear that this is the focus of a government that's been in power for 17 years, this is the stuff that they're focusing on. It's incredibly frustrating," she said.

In a statement through his party Tuesday, Smith apologized for his misogynistic song lyrics. He said the songs in question were released 10 years ago, and that he doesn't believe in what he said.

"I apologize for these lyrics, take complete responsibility for my actions and am committed to social action to bring an end to gender-based discrimination," the emailed response said."My focus now is on being a positive influence in our society and any music I've created in recent years has been devoted to that."

Sask. Party Leader Scott Moe didn't have any public events Tuesday, but did some campaigning on social media. He posted a short video on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday morning.

Moe said a re-electedSask. Party would keep the carbon tax exemption for residential natural gas heating bills until the end of 2025.

"This exemption saved the average household about $400 in 2024, and it will save that same household $480 in the coming year," Moe said in the video.

He also said the carbon tax exemption for electrical home heating bills wouldextend to April 30 next year.

Beck said the NDP will "be prepared" to match the Sask. Party promise on the exemption if it doesn't manage to strike a new deal with federal government.

"Heating homes, of course, in this province orany province in Canada is not a luxury. We have to do that," she said.

Beck's appearance Tuesday was focused on the shortage of health-care workers in the province.

She promised to reduce worker turnover by half and hire 800 new health-care professionals in the next four yearsif elected. She said the Sask. NDP will improve retention and employmentby converting part-time jobs in health care to full-time and "improving work conditions."

Both leaders are scheduled to appear in Regina on Wednesday night for a live debate.

Moderated by Merelda Fiddler-Potter, assistant professor of Indigenous communication at First Nations University of Canada, the debate will air on CBCTelevision, CBC Radio and Radio-Canada.

You can also catch the livestream on CBC Gem and the CBC Saskatchewan YouTube channel.