Casino

When I first ran for the position of MLA for Swift Current in 1999 I campaigned on a theme of “Constituents First”.  I committed to putting the job of representing your views in Regina ahead of other issues that MLA’s face up to and including toeing the party line.

With respect to the casino issue, over 55% of voters in a local plebiscite voted to support such a development. This was not an informal survey.  The fact that this view was expressed in a separate, well-debated plebiscite that involved public meetings and public discourse, makes the result compelling.  In addition to this plebiscite, which itself is not a commonly used tool, City Council unanimously supported the application for the project as did Action Swift Current and the Chamber of Commerce.

Given my position on representing local views to the best of my ability and the results of the plebiscite, it would have been hypocritical for me to attack the provincial government for approving the casino project.  Unchanged is the fact that the Saskatchewan Party Official Opposition committed to a social impact study on the effects of gaming on our society prior to any expansion in gambling including casino developments.  I have indicated that this is what we would have done on the issue of gambling expansion had we won the last election.

On to Ottawa

Recently, I took the opportunity to travel to Ottawa to help fight for Saskatchewan issues in the nation’s capital.  I wanted to follow up on our offer to the Premier to make the case for changes to the equalization formula that currently claws back Saskatchewan’s resource revenues.  Indeed, I wrote to the Premier on October 7^th offering to attend the First Minister’s conference to show solidarity on Saskatchewan’s position on equalization.  I was somewhat surprised when Premier Calvert did not even acknowledge the letter, however, I took the opportunity to raise the matter with the Finance Minister, Mr. Goodale, and with the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Harper.

Congratulations are in order to the First Ministers who agreed to changes that are favourable to our province.  Indeed, the NDP government here will now have over $360 million in new dollars from the federal government.

I also raised agriculture issues during my meeting with Mr. Goodale.  Specifically, I requested that his government remove the required deposit to the CAIS program.  I believe that the federal government will be considering this request in the very near future.  Of course the ongoing issue of BSE was also discussed and Mr. Goodale asked about progress with the Southwest Beef Initiative.   I think it is fair to say that there was agreement that we simply must increase our slaughter capacity in Canada and become less reliant on the US export market.

While in Ottawa, I had the opportunity to see many Saskatchewan MP’s including our David Anderson at work representing our views on key issues.

Everyone Knows the Broncos

Since assuming my new duties as the Leader of the Opposition I have had more cause to travel around our province and outside our province including these most recent meetings in Ottawa.   I am struck by how much profile is given to our community by the Swift Current Broncos.  People across Canada are aware of our storied franchise and often ask about our Broncos.

How Do You Like Them Potatoes? 10 Times Worse Than the Sponsorship Scandal

We now know that the government spent another $8 million of your hard-earned tax dollars to settle out of court on the Spudco affair.  $34 million lost and blatant deception to the taxpayers about the nature of the deal by the NDP over the last 6 years cries out for a public inquiry.  On a per capita basis this is 10 times worse than the Liberal sponsorship scandal that the Prime Minister voluntarily subjected to a public inquiry.

As for Premier Calvert, he says no inquiry is needed.  I strongly disagree.  In addition to the fact that this is 10 times worse than ADSCAM, consider the following questions which have never been answered by Lorne Calvert and the NDP government: 

1. Did the government purposely avoid seeking required Legislative authority for key parts of this deal as is referenced in an independent report by Ernst and Young?
2. Did the NDP government conspire to drive a seed-growing business known as Micro-Gro out of business to avoid having to pay out on a long-term contract as suggested in the minutes of the Board meeting of SaskWater (authorized directly by then-Minister Maynard Sonntag)?
3. Why did the NDP government divert $3.9 million in Ducks Unlimited trust monies within SaskWater to cash-strapped Spudco?
4. Did the NDP manipulate the courts last fall during a provincial election when they filed a frivolous affidavit in court alleging that that the Saskatchewan Party had some agreement to settle out of court with the Spudco plaintiffs had we won the election?  The allegation was complete nonsense and yet, as the Crown Corporations Critic, I had to respond to the fact that the NDP tried to score political points off this fabrication during an election.  Were the NDP using taxpayer funded lawyers and our court process to influence their own political fortunes?

These questions are unanswered and speak not only to incompetence on the part of the NDP but perhaps corruption.  It is time for an inquiry.  We need to get to the bottom of this, and hold accountable those who ought to be held accountable and ensure that this never again happens in our province.

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