The Saskatchewan Party has launched a political advertisement against the new leader of the Saskatchewan NDP and Leader of the Official Opposition, Cam Broten.
The advertisement attempts to tether Broten to the previous NDP leader, Dwain Lingenfelter, and to the party's 2011 First Nations resource revenue sharing policy.
In a segment featured on CTV Saskatoon last week, Broten responded to the advertisements by stating "I did not write the platform in 2011."
Contrary to Broten's claim, there is evidence that suggests otherwise.
Beginning on March 6, 2010, Broten chaired the party's policy review task force, seeing through the Saskatchewan NDP's first policy review since 1991.
The final report of the Saskatchewan NDP's policy panel, 'A Rooted and Growing Vision', tabled in March, 2011, bears Broten's signature.
If Broten did not write the 2011 platform, who did?
The final report lists five other members of the policy review task force, but Broten's signature, and a tweet dated March 26, 2011, expressing his gratitude that the document was approved as party policy, display his approval of the platform as a whole.
The 2011 election platform contains the majority of policies presented in the document adopted earlier that year, including the First Nations and Metis resource revenue sharing policy.
Despite chairing the party's policy review process, tabling the final policy document bearing his signature, and expressing his approval at the document becoming official party policy, Broten had no hand in writing the Saskatchewan NDP's 2011 election platform?
Regardless of whether or not Broten actually wrote the NDP's 2011 platform, this would not be the first time the Saskatchewan NDP has disseminated misinformation.
In 2011 the NDP ran a political advertisement that spliced together parts of Premier Brad Wall's answers to two different questions, resulting in an advertisement that made it appear as though the premier did not care about families and the cost of living.
The advertisement was revealed to be a fabrication, and contributed to the NDP's showing in the 2011 election.
In 2013, the pattern of false information continues.
Saskatchewan NDP youth wing president Nathaniel Cole was recently flown out to Nova Scotia in order to help the NDP retain power in that province.
Working for NDP candidate Ramona Jennex in the constituency of Kings South, Nathaniel Cole attempted to rally the support of a LGBTQ group at Acadia University by smearing the Liberal candidate, Keith Irving.
In an email to Acadia Pride, Nathaniel Cole wrote, referring to Jennex "As you know, she is currently being challenged for her seat in this election by the outspoken homophobe Keith Irving."
This baseless accusation led to the firing of Nathaniel Cole, who issued an apology last Friday.
If the party intends on improving upon their current seat count in Regina, it would do well to break from the style of politics inherent in the Saskatchewan NDP.