It seems my election prediction may be off by one seat but it may be a while before the final results are in.
Although fixed election dates seem to be a reasonable action, it seems that Wall is bound to move quickly on more questionable policies such as his Enterprise Saskatchewan group. This group could steer the Saskatchewan economy in a very right wing direction. It remains to be seen if NDP fears were warranted.
New Sask. premier sets fixed election dates
James Wood
CanWest News Service
Thursday, November 08, 2007
REGINA -- Fresh from a major victory in the provincial election, Saskatchewan premier-designate Brad Wall is making plans already for the next one.
To keep a long-standing party promise of fixed election dates, the Saskatchewan Party leader announced Thursday morning that the next election will be held on Nov. 7, 2011, exactly four years after Wednesday's provincial vote that saw the NDP swept from power after 16 years.
"My goal is to have this legislation, and some other legislative items, ready for discussion in a December session of the Saskatchewan legislature," said Mr. Wall, looking relaxed and confident as he spoke to reporters in the Opposition caucus room.
Other key items the new government expects to move on early include new balanced-budget legislation and establishing Enterprise Saskatchewan, a new public-private partnership of stakeholder groups that will oversee economic development in the province.
"We are in the process of identifying now which ones we can move on quickly, immediately and which ones may need legislative support," he said.
Wall met with outgoing NDP Premier Lorne Calvert on Thursday morning and said Nov. 21 has tentatively been set as the swearing-in date for the new Saskatchewan Party majority government.
Just how many Saskatchewan Party MLAs will be sworn in is still uncertain, however. Mr. Wall said that the deputy returning officer in Meadow Lake had advised the party that one poll count had been reversed -- that former Conservative MP Jeremy Harrison, running for the Saskatchewan Party, now had a 17-vote lead over veteran NDP cabinet minister Maynard Sonntag.
Absentee ballots still need to be counted and nothing is official.
If Mr. Harrison's lead holds, the Saskatchewan Party will hold 38 seats in the legislature to the NDP's 20.
In a wide-ranging news conference, Mr. Wall said the Saskatchewan Party still wants the same equalization deal as other provinces when it comes to natural resources, which would mean more federal dollars for Saskatchewan.
But he said he could not comment on whether his government will continue the constitutional challenge over equalization filed by Mr. Calvert's government against the federal Conservative government until he sees the legal opinions.
"I believe there is an imperative for the federal government to be investing in the priorities of Saskatchewan," he said.
Mr. Wall did say that a Saskatchewan Party government will drop the province's financial support for agricultural groups that have challenged the federal government's push to scrap the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly on barley sales.
jwood@sp.canwest.com
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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