PRIORITY
OF DEBATE
Impact of SaskEnergy Proposed Rate Increases
(continued)
Mr.
Wall:
— Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well just before the introduction of
guests, the member for Regina Victoria was bellowing out again
about the lowest prices in North America. And that is the promise
and the commitment of the government. You made it on . . . I beg
your pardon, Mr. Speaker, his colleague, the Minister of Finance,
committed, committed the government to the lowest prices in North
America. And we will hold the government to that because if it
adopts the recommendations of the rate review panel, we’ll be at
$7.28 a gigajoule. That’s the fact of the matter, Mr. Speaker.
It’s not our side versus their side. That’s the fact of the
matter. And the other fact of that matter then, Mr. Speaker, is
that we will not be the lowest in North America, and another
promise will have been broken by this government. Just like the
health care promises that they made in the last election were
broken, Mr. Speaker. Just like their solemn promise to their
membership that they would never privatize, that they opposed
deregulation. Let’s take a look at the record of the members
opposite on that front, Mr. Speaker, to find out if they’re
trustworthy as regards this motion today. What did they do with
the shares in the Husky Upgrader? They privatized them. What did
they do with their shares in Cameco? They privatized them. What
did they do with their remaining shares in SaskComp, with their
remaining shares in SaskComp, now ISM (Information Systems
Management Corporation)? They privatized them. What did the
president — the NDP hand-picked president — of SaskTel confirm
for us not more than two weeks ago? That he was considering the
privatization of 20 to 30 per cent of SaskTel, Mr. Speaker.
That’s their record. So on one hand they say we’re
unequivocally opposed to privatization. We want to have nothing to
do with it. And in the backrooms, in the backrooms, they’re
cutting deals. They’re selling the assets of the people of
Saskatchewan because their commitment does not go beyond their
word. What about deregulation? What about deregulation? Let’s
take a look at that issue, Mr. Speaker. And they better get used
to hearing about it because we’re going to be talking about this
ad nauseam for the next number of months. On the count of
deregulation, this government has deregulated well, one major
industry for sure — the telephone industry, right? Some say
it’s been a good thing. Some of the review . . .
Mr.
Wall:
— I raise these
issues because when we talk about SaskEnergy, when we talk about
this rate increase as the panel has recommended to the government,
and when we ask the government questions about this issue, they
always bring up these issues. And it’s frankly a little
disingenuine because they are the government that has the agenda
in terms of privatization. They’ve deregulated the telephone
industry. They’ve introduced a Bill this session, the minister
of SaskPower has, to deregulate the electrical industry. That’s
what it would do. And we’ll have questions about that in
committee. But, Mr. Speaker, that is very significant as it
relates to this issue. Because when residents, when consumers in
the province of Saskatchewan hear about anything to do with gas
prices — when they hear about gas prices going up 34 percent,
when they hear that our prices will soon be higher than in Alberta
which is everybody’s whipping boy in terms of the price of
energy — they get concerned. They think that this is the product
of bad policy making in our province just as the high prices in
Alberta may be the product of bad policy making in that province.
I think we’ve all agreed that the approach the Alberta
government took in the gas industry has been wrong. I think
they’ve made a number of mistakes. Everybody, I think everybody
would agree with the process they’ve used. But you know what,
Mr. Speaker? When they hear that this government is willing to
consider a 40 per cent increase in face of the fact that natural
gas prices have dropped 40 per cent, they also think that that is
bad public policy, Mr. Speaker. It’s as bad as any provincial
government has enacted anywhere, and that’s why we want to have
this debate. The debate is about a motion that is very
constructive, Mr. Speaker. It doesn’t get into the details of
what’s needed and what isn’t. It doesn’t require the
government to turn down SaskEnergy’s request for help with the
gas cost variance account, because clearly it’s going to be . .
. it’s in arrears and it’ll get worse before it gets better.
Our motion doesn’t provide a blanket opposition to any kind of
increase at all. But it does call on this government to leave no
stone unturned in terms of any measure it can possibly invoke to
ease the shock of this increase, to relieve people a little bit
from this increase. And further, Mr. Speaker, because of the
concern and question that exists regarding the price of natural
gas today and the price SaskEnergy has used to make their
forecast, because of that 40 per cent discrepancy — more now
than the requested rate increase — we’re asking the government
to consider as one of those measures to simply send it back to the
panel and say we appreciate the good work the panel has done, we
know that the panel has hired industry experts but the gas
commodity industry is obviously a volatile thing. It has been . .
. that’s been the record of it over the last number of months.
And so it is completely neat and right for this government to say:
in light of the fact that the day you had your press conference,
the headlines all over the country were concerning the slump in
the price of natural gas, and in light of the fact that the price
that day was $4.75 a gigajoule and the request SaskEnergy made is
based on $7 a gigajoule, and if agreed to . . . if we agree with
your recommendations panel, the rate will be $7.28 a gigajoule —
in light of all of that, we think it’s completely reasonable and
fair for the panel to reconsider those factors. This is too
important an issue, Mr. Speaker. There is too much at stake. There
is too much at stake in our schools. There is too much at stake in
our hospitals. There’s too much at stake in our small businesses
and in our municipalities, Mr. Speaker. There’s too much at
stake in our homes, in the homes of our constituents. And I find
it very unfortunate that the Minister of Finance, in one of his
rants in response to the questions on this side, would question
the motives of any of us. I think the term he used was crocodile
tears.
Hon.
Members: Hear, hear! |
