Budget Breaks Promises

During and since the last election campaign Mr. Calvert, made some specific promises.

He said he would reduce taxes.  The recent budget increased the PST, implemented the ‘wiener roast tax’ and hiked a host of fees, such as fishing licenses, birth certificates and water quality tests.  The PST increase is particularly hard hitting on Swift Current and other west side communities trying hard to compete with Alberta.

Mr. Calvert said he would reduce the burden of education funding on local property tax.   There was no such provision in the budget.

The NDP promised improved health care in Saskatchewan.  The budget will result in the closure of more beds further exasperating waiting lists that are in many cases already the longest in Canada.

Mr. Calvert made commitments to seniors.  This budget will result in the closure of long term care beds and fee hikes for items like hearing aids and podiatry visits.

CT Scan

Recently, NDP MLA Kevin Yates issued a press release here in the southwest chastising colleagues and I for opposing the provincial budget that broke numerous NDP promises and increased the PST by 1%.  Incredibly, Mr. Yates attempted to extrapolate the budget vote into some sort of opposition to the CT scan that will be coming to Swift Current.  Firstly, the original commitment for a CT scan from this government was for the old mobile unit previously shared between Swift Current and Moose Jaw.  Indeed, we argued on behalf of our constituents and health care providers that the NDP government should approve for our hospital a new unit given the diagnostic experience we already have in our region.  We circulated petitions to that effect and presented them in the Legislature where Mr. Yates would have heard them.  For the NDP to suggest now that I do not support the CT scan after joining with constituents to fight for it is at best ridiculous political mischief and at worst an outright misrepresentation of the truth.

Budget Offers No Vision for Growth

Perhaps most disappointing was the dearth of any innovation or hint that the government has a plan to get our province growing.  As I told the Premier in the Legislature, he only ever mentions two options in dealing with government budgeting when resources are scarce:  cut services or increase taxes.  He needs to understand that there is a third option.  Granted it is a long term option, but it may be our best hope to be able to deliver the quality of life services the government should be able to deliver:  it is a plan to get our economy growing.  We will continue to press the government on this issue.

Budget Hits Swift Current Environment Staff Hard

For a government that ran a campaign very much on environment issues and spoke of a ‘green economy’, the decision to devastate our local Environment office in Swift Current is hard to fathom.  There seems to be little answer in terms of a plan by this government to deal with important environmental issues that conservation officers, ecologists, fish & wildlife specialists and other environment staff have been dealing with (there were apparently 16 jobs lost in Swift Current alone with many other job losses in other areas of the Grasslands EcoRegion which will no doubt have a serious impact on our region).  In addition to the loss of jobs is the distinct reality that many of these individuals and their families may have to move away from Swift Current to seek employment elsewhere.

Equalization

My first full day as Leader of the Opposition, I sent a letter to the Premier supporting the government’s position that Saskatchewan must get a better deal from equalization payments.  We support the NDP government’s contention that Saskatchewan is penalized in terms of the treatment of our oil and gas revenues by the current formula.   I also offered our help in any way (short of the silly $75,000 newspaper ads the government purchased) to aid in making Saskatchewan’s case.

While offering constructive help to the NDP on this issue, we also challenged them to go beyond their current position on the issue.  Rather than simply negotiate a better deal for Saskatchewan as a “have-not” province, we want the government to join with the Official Opposition in making a priority of our province becoming a “have” province.  Surely, we need a government in our province that believes that Saskatchewan’s potential is just too great to have to rely on assistance from other provinces.

Please feel free to contact me with any provincial government concerns or inquiries that you may have.