Saskatchewan Party wins third majority term by a wide margin

he Saskatchewan provincial election was another triumph for the Saskatchewan Party led by premier Brad Wall. The party won a third majority in a row.

The Saskatchewan Party won a whopping 51 of the 61 seats in the Saskatchewan legislature. Cam Broten, the leader of the opposition New Democratic Party, lost in his own constituency. The race in a Saskatoon constituency was close with the Saskatchewan Party candidate winning by only 232 votes. David Buckingham won with 49.2 percent of the vote while Broten had 46.3 percent.

The Saskatchewan Party captured just under 63 per cent of the vote and prevailed in 51 of the province's 61 constituencies. The NDP managed just half of that at over 30 per cent of the vote. It won 10 seats, just one more than the last election. However, there were only 59 seats then.

The results were not much different from the 2011 election that was disastrous for the NDP. The Saskatchewan Party won 64 percent of the vote while the NDP had 32 percent. Of the 61 seats only three seats changed parties. The NDP picked up Prince Albert Northcote, and Regina Douglas Park but lost the Sasaktoon seat of Saskatoon Westview, the NDP leader Cam Broten's constituency. Polls had all along indicated that the Saskatchewan Party would win and they were correct. The Saskatchewan Party win seemed inevitable.

The Saskatchewan Party did drop somewhat as the urban rural divide intensified marginally. The vote for the party dropped three points in Saskatoon and over 6 points in Regina. The party still won 56 percent of the vote in Saskatoon, and 49 percent in Regina, the capital. The NDP was not up that much, only one point in Saskatoon and two in Regina. The Liberal party was up 4 percent in Saskatoon and 5 percent in Regina, robbing the NDP of badly needed votes. The increased Liberal vote probably resulted in Broten losing his Saskatoon seat. The rural vote of the Saskatchewan Party increased from 71 to 72 percent with the NDP getting only 20 percent of the rural vote.

This election gave the NDP the lowest share of the popular vote they have ever had. This is the third election in a row that their share of the vote has declined, the first time this has happened since the party was formed. The results for the NDP is surprising given that Saskatchewan is now beginning to suffer from a decline in oil prices. Brad Wall will not need to worry about anyone challenging his leadership! However, Cam Broten is likely to see a challenge to his leadership unless he resigns soon.

Wall appoints former Deviners to transition team

This is from Buckdog's blog. Given the mess made by Devine perhaps by Nov. 7, 2011 the NDP can get back in quite easily. The next step will be to make Enterprise Saskatchewan the Devine Lite version of Devine's wretched privatisation programs.


Friday, November 09, 2007
Premier ‘Elect’ Wall Appoints Senior Grant Devine Staffer To Head Transition Team

One of Saskatchewan Premier Elect Brad Wall’s first tasks was to name his transition team. To put this into context, please remember that the Saskatchewan Party has hollered loud and far that they ‘are not the old Grant Devine Conservatives’ and have ‘NO connection to the former Grant Devine administration’.

So with that in mind, who are the two key functionaries that Mr. Wall has appointed to head up his transition team? ...... Reg Downs, former Ministerial Assistant in the Grant Devine government and Doug Emsley, former assistant Principal Secretary to Grant Devine (and new sweet heart of the Steven Harper government - Steven Harper appointed Emsley to the Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada in June 2007).


Way to go Brad ... nothing like honesty and ethics in government
Friday, November 09, 2007
Premier ‘Elect’ Wall Appoints Senior Grant Devine Staffer To Head Transition Team

One of Saskatchewan Premier Elect Brad Wall’s first tasks was to name his transition team. To put this into context, please remember that the Saskatchewan Party has hollered loud and far that they ‘are not the old Grant Devine Conservatives’ and have ‘NO connection to the former Grant Devine administration’.

So with that in mind, who are the two key functionaries that Mr. Wall has appointed to head up his transition team? ...... Reg Downs, former Ministerial Assistant in the Grant Devine government and Doug Emsley, former assistant Principal Secretary to Grant Devine (and new sweet heart of the Steven Harper government - Steven Harper appointed Emsley to the Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada in June 2007).


Way to go Brad ... nothing like honesty and ethics in government

Time for Referendum: Wall

I guess the pundits are right. Calvert is for the status quo. On the other hand Wall is for change maybe, depending which way the polls are going!

Time for referendum: Wall
Saskatchewan News Network
Published: Saturday, November 03, 2007
REGINA (SNN) -- Premier Lorne Calvert says he doesn't think a referendum on daylight saving time would clear up the eternal time debate in Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall has promised a referendum or plebiscite in conjunction with a provincial election if his party forms government, and he said this week he is still committed to holding a referendum four years from now at the time of the provincial vote, if his party forms government on Wednesday.

But Calvert said he's not sure what a referendum would decide.


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Font:****"Any time there's been a polling on this, and I think the same result would occur in a referendum, you get about 50 per cent of the people saying yes to change and 50 per cent of the people saying, 'No, keep it as it is,' which is daylight saving time year-round as it is," said the NDP leader.




© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007

Another seat forecast!

This is a bit more pessimistic for the NDP but this may take into account the most recent poll that gives the Sask. Party an almost insurmountable lead. Given that the NDP is the governing party the remark that it represents the status quo is not remarkable. The remark about the youth seems to fit in with the Wall propaganda about the NDP being old and tired. However, the big support for the Sask. Party is all those old farmers out in the rural areas where they will sweep the polls. It is in the urban areas with a younger population that the NDP is still in contention! This is from the blog birkbeck.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Election Forecast
Well here we are only days before the Saskatchewan provincial election. Everyone is trying to guess by how much the SaskParty will win this election. My first instinct on November 1, 2007 was 33 seats for the SaskParty, 25 for the NDP and none for the liberals. I have since looked deeper into my crystal ball and looked at all the factors that contribute to who wins and who loses in a provincial election. Initially, I thought some of those factors would not come into play, but have now decided they will. This will change the final outcome of this election.

What are some of these factors? To begin with, the NDP has annoyed almost everyone in the province on at least one issue or another over the last four years. The voters will remember these on Election Day. The economy is strong and the voters believe it can be even better with a new government. That is only a belief with little to support it and only time will tell if the economy will be kind to the SaskParty. Regardless, the voters feel it will be and that will serve to satisfy their ever-outstretched hands for more.

Pollsters have told us for years that the political lines are blurred resulting from voters being less conscious about the ideological and philosophical factors that influence how they vote. I agree the lines have been blurred, but only as it relates to how the political parties have all become to look the same respecting their policies. I believe with our aging population and the advances in technology among voters whom are under sixty-five years of age that there is a new attitude about how Saskatchewan people see themselves and how they see the future of Saskatchewan. They are more prepared for change now than they have been in the past and the SaskParty represents that change. The NDP represents the status quo and that is just not on at this time in our political history. I believe the voters still have firm ideological and philosophical beliefs that have been on slow burn over recent years. The SaskParty has provided the political environment for these beliefs to once again flourish as it once did among the pioneers of our great province.

Politics is odd at the best of times and so will be the numbers when the polls close and the results of this election are known. The SaskParty should win 37 seats and that will leave the NDP with 21 if voter turnout is up from the last election. The SaskParty margin of victory will depend on an increase in the total number of votes cast. I believe they will attract new voters in this election. This election will signal to all of Canada that things are about to change very significantly here in Saskatchewan. Get out and vote and be part of our province’s great history.

Posted by Larry Birkbeck at 11:34 AM

Saskatchewan's election a non-ideological affair

I agree with Doskoch although I would put it differently. The NDP and Sask. Party share the same ideology both are basically pro-capitalist and dependent upon serving the interests of capital. The NDP for example refuses to return to the CCF programme of public ownership and challenging the power of private capital. It has also abandoned any attempt to even address rural issues. Where is discussion of the Wheat Board? Agricultural policies? While accusing Wall of being a wolf in sheep's clothing bent on privatization Calvert sells off a half interest in an oil upgrader. I think my description is superior to that of Doskoch: a choice between Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-dumb. Calvert is sucking up to oil by not examining royalty payments in Sask.
Good times are often bad for the NDP. Blakeney lost to Grant Devine in good times. Now we have Brad Devine II replacing Calvert.

Saskatchewan's election a non-ideological affair
Updated Sat. Nov. 3 2007 7:40 AM ET

Bill Doskoch, CTV.ca News

After coming close in 1999 and 2003, this appears to be the year the Saskatchewan Party pushes the NDP from power in a provincial election.

Two polls released publicly indicate the mildly centre-right party has a substantial lead over the mildly centre-left party that has ruled Saskatchewan since 1991 -- with Lorne Calvert as party leader and premier since 2001.

However, 'mild' is the operative word when describing the two parties' ideological differences.

"There's a bit of polarization, but it's tactical more than ideological, like: 'Who's going to look after my interests better?'" Ken Rasmussen, a University of Regina political scientist, told CTV.ca.

About 15 seats are in play in urban Saskatchewan, and both the main contenders are trying to reach those voters in time for the Nov. 7 election, he said.

The Saskatchewan Party is likely to pick up seven or eight seats in the wealthier suburbs of Regina and Saskatoon. With the NDP unlikely to make gains in rural Saskatchewan, that's enough to change the government, Rasmussen said.

If Saskatchewanians do change their government, they will do so at a time of almost unparalleled prosperity in the prairie province.

The province is raking in the bucks from the same energy boom that has lifted Alberta's economy to dizzying heights.

Prices are good for major commodities like uranium and potash. Even agriculture, long a depressed part of the economy, is seeing buoyant prices for grains and oilseeds.

But the NDP has a problem, Rasmussen said: People are tired of them.

This has happened before. The 11-year-old government of NDP Premier Allan Blakeney got swept out of office in 1982 by a Progressive Conservative tidal wave.

A brash young agricultural economist named Grant Devine led the Tories to victory, telling the province, "there's so much more we can be" -- and turning the NDP's "tried and trusted" slogan into "tired and rusted."

This time, the Saskatchewan Party is led by Brad Wall, who took over in 2004 but who has been involved in conservative provincial politics for much of his life. For much of the campaign, he's been calling the current NDP government "tired and old."

Fear factor

While the Saskatchewan Party can offer fresh faces, it made itself look "scary" in 2003 when then-leader Elwin Hermanson -- a one-time federal Reform Party MP -- refused to promise his party wouldn't privatize Crown corporations. The NDP clung to power with a two-seat margin, taking 30 of 58 seats.

Wall, 41, has stressed that no wholesale privatizations will take place under his leadership -- and has attacked the NDP for fear-mongering.

In one pre-election ad filmed at a football practice, Wall calmly tells the camera: "They might say anything ... maybe that I'm a secret Calgary Stampeders fan."

Over at the NDP's website, they don't accuse Wall of being a Stampeders fan, which if true, would be political death in the Saskatchewan Roughriders-mad province. But you can see a graphic there labelled "The same old Sask Party." An image shows a wolf in sheep's clothing -- with a red 'no' line superimposed.

"What lies behind the friendly new image?" the NDP asks, urging people to say 'no' to the Sask Party's "hidden agenda."

The NDP talks up the Saskatchewan Party's inexperience and "recklessness," and calls its opponent an apologist for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Calvert got into a fight with the feds over equalization earlier this year.

However, scrapping with Ottawa and trying to link Wall and the Saskatchewan Party to the bad memories of the Devine years don't appear to be paying dividends.

"It's all they've got left," Rasmussen said of the NDP's campaign, adding that it worked in 2003.

Neither the NDP nor the Sask Party are wasting any time attacking the Liberals. Party Leader David Karwacki has the unenviable task of trying to capture attention in a province that often splits between a left and right-wing choice.

Karwacki's party got shut out in 2003. If the polls are correct, that might happen again on Wednesday. If Karwacki doesn't win his own seat this time, he's likely done as leader, Rasmussen said.

Fighting for the centre

While the province has historically been split between left and right, the ideological distances on policies have never been smaller as the three main parties fight for the centre.

The two main contenders are using the province's current prosperity as an opportunity to make spending promises. The NDP has promised to cap drug subscription costs at $15. The Sask Party promises farm families they will save thousands on education property tax.

Calvert in turn has talked about property tax relief for everyone -- including renters. (As an FYI, the NDP is strongest in cities.)

"This a low-key, non-ideological election," Rasmussen said. "It's really about changing the elite in the province as changing the policy direction."

Ultimately, the Saskatchewan public likes NDP policies -- they're just tired of the NDP, he said.

The Sask Party recognizes that and has shed the old Reform Party tinge that coloured its early days, Rasmussen said. "They have reinvented themselves as a mainstream conservative party, and that seems to be enough to make people think they're okay."

If the Sask Party does form the government, Rasmussen said don't expect the Saskatchewan version of the Mike Harris "Common Sense Revolution" in Ontario.

But from a province that has seen pitched political battles in the past over things like medicare, nationalization and privatization, that sounds somewhat dull.

"This has been a terribly boring election," Rasmussen said.

Enterprise Saskatchewan

THis is from Buckdog.. The description is not clear about how exactly the group is to be set up. If Buckdog is correct the group would have a great deal of power and not be just an advisory group. The description seem to bear out his account. This would be much more than such groups as the North American Competitiveness Council for exmple who advise the Canadian, Mexican, and US govts. and met with them at Montebello recently. The Enterprise group will be part of any North American energy and economic organisations. I wonder how this fits in with their objections to TILMA? This implies as well that they would be part of the SPP groupings.
Some of the aims sound quite good but the details will be important.



'Enterprise Saskatchewan' - The Saskatchewan Party's Plan To 'Contract Out' The Role Of Government

Tucked away in the platform document of the Saskatchewan Party, is a section that describes the creation of a new agency of the provincial government. Their plan entails gutting the current Department of Economic Development and the creation of a new body of appointed individuals who would advise a future government on legislative, regulatory and budgetary requirements. In other words, the overall role of the government and the legislature would be moved to an unelected body known as Enterprise Saskatchewan.

Here is an excerpt from the Sask Party platform document:

"A Saskatchewan Party government will create Enterprise Saskatchewan,a new public-private partnership between government, business, labour, First nations, municipalities, post-secondary institutions and economic stakeholders. Enterprise Saskatchewan will be Saskatchewan’s central economic development agency.

-Enterprise Saskatchewan will act as the lead agency for developing a long-term provincial labour force development strategy to ensure Saskatchewan has enough well-trained workers to fill jobs and sustain economic growth in our province.
-Enterprise Saskatchewan teams will review key sectors of Saskatchewan’s economy, to identify barriers to growth and make recommendations to government for their removal.
-Enterprise Saskatchewan will consistently act to measure and report on Saskatchewan’s tax and regulatory environment to ensure that Saskatchewan’s economy remains competitive within the New West.
-A Saskatchewan Party government will ensure that Saskatchewan people reap the benefits of our energy resources by:
-Ensuring the continued, sustainable development of Saskatchewan’s conventional oil and oil sands resources;
-Working with the federal government to develop a national energy grid to increase provincial revenues from power exports; and
-Ensuring Saskatchewan is a member of North American and international energy and economic organizations.
-Facilitate direct partnerships between post-secondary institutions and industry to address training needs in growth sectors of the economy;
-Develop a long-term provincial initiative between First Nations, post-secondary institutions and industry to increase the number of First Nations workers in the labour force; and -Increase training and employment opportunities for apprentices, including reviewing the current journeyman to apprentice ratio in consultation with industry and labour.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

When you look at the 'role' of Enterprise Saskatchewan, it is pretty easy to see that it is the 'contracting out' of the responsibilities of the provincial government - giving responsibility to an appointed group!

It will allow an unelected body to determine if labour legislation is a 'barrier' to the growth of the private sector. It will allow an unelected body to determine if Saskatchewan's Crown Corporations are a 'barrier' to the growth of the private sector.

It's the ultimate in contracting out!

The Leadership Debate in Saskatchewan

This is from the CBC.I will also post one blog commentary below this article from the following blog. I read several blogs and the opinions on Karwacki were quite divided. The blog her thought he was not bad but others thought he was terrible. It does not sound as if anyone clearly won.

Sask. political leaders pump up the volume at debate
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 | 10:04 PM CT
CBC News
While Saskatchewan's political leaders kept their fingers on hot-button issues, viewers of Tueday's debate might have been excused for keeping theirs on the volume button.

The one-hour televised debate had Liberal Leader David Karwacki, NDP Leader Lorne Calvert and Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall explaining their platforms and trying to reach out to voters, but there were also numerous times where it turned into a verbal free-for-all, with shouting galore.

Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall (left) looks on as Liberal Leader David Karwacki (centre) mixes it up with NDP Leader Lorne Calvert.
(CBC) Host Holly Preston interrupted the leaders, who were trying to talk over one another, on a number of occasions.

Between the skirmishes, the candidates answered questions about provincial finances, handling Saskatchewan's booming economy, greenhouse gases, waiting lists in the health-care system, crumbling highways and violence in small communities.

Six of the nine questions were put to the leaders by members of the public via video clips. The other three questions, submitted by Global TV, CTV and CBC, were posed by Preston.

Throughout the 60-minute event, which was held in CBC Saskatchewan's Regina galleria, there were a number of quips and digs.

Continue Article

Calvert took Wall to task over his party's promise to appoint a panel of experts to an agency called Enterprise Saskatchewan to manage economic development.

During a discussion about managing the provinces finances, Calvert noted that Wall had worked for the debt-ridden regime of Progressive Conservative leader Grant Devine.

"How many budgets did you balance?" he asked.

Wall replied that the NDP has used a fiscal "shell game" in the past to stay out of the red.

Wall also blamed Calvert's government for long waiting lists, the poor state of the highways and failing to hire enough police officers.

Wall took aim at Karwacki for a Liberal platform that he said had an $800-million hole in it.

Karwacki, whose party didn't elect any MLAs in 2003, attacked both Calvert and Wall after their MLAs adopted what he called a "gold-plated" health-care plan.

"We need to have Liberals in the legislature," he said.

The Liberal leader also aimed some sharp jabs at Calvert, turning his back on him at one point after saying, "I don't believe you're going to form the next government."

When Karwacki kept talking, Calvert replied, "I guess when you're short on votes, you go long on words."

Later, Karwacki referred to Calvert's promise to put a $15 cap on the price of prescription drugs for another dig at the NDP leader, saying Calvert should get a $15 prescription for "truth serum."

Wall, who has engaged in numerous fiery debates with Calvert in the legislature, struck a more serene tone Tuesday night. Calling the NDP government "tired and old" has been a virtual mantra over the past three weeks of the election campaign, but he didn't use the phrase once during the debate.

Calvert worked on delivering a message that he has repeated many times on the campaign trail — that Saskatchewan is more prosperous than it has ever been and the NDP deserves another mandate.

The election is Nov. 7.

from a blog;

Sask. leaders' debate observations
Last night, the Saskatchewan election leaders' debate took place in Regina between Brad Wall (Sask. Party), David Karwacki (Liberal) and Lorne Calvert (NDP and incumbent premier).

Here is what I noticed last night, written in point form:
1. The format of the debate must have ticked a lot of people off.
While the statement speeches were handled quite well, I felt that the bickering that occurred during the actual debate times must have turned off people who already had a hunch that politics is 'skum-bag' sport.
2. Brad Wall focused much more on the NDP's history and his independent review than his actual policy.
Last night, Wall focused on two broad points: a) his platform has had an independent review by an economist (and that economist said it was balanced); and b) Saskatchewan pretty much is falling apart under Calvert. However, Wall really didn't mention much about his exact ideas and—for the ones he did bring up—how those ideas will make Saskatchewan better. I think if people should know exactly what this change that's being proposed to them is, and how this change is actually constructive and will make everyone's lives better (i.e. that the change is not like switching from sugar-packed Lucky Charms cereal to sugar-packed Captain Crunch cereal).
3. David Karwacki did surprisingly well.
While I am in no way handing my support to Karwacki's platform, I was surprised how well Karwacki did in the debate. He didn't seem like the unelected leader of a third party who-has-no-current-MLAs type of guy. He did truly seem like a real contender who has a good chance.
4. Lorne Calvert ought to have made the point more clearly that the boom was started under his government.
While Calvert did mention several times that Saskatchewan is experiencing a boom and has increased prosperity, I never actually heard him take credit for that. The job boom logically means that there is more jobs, meaning that either companies are starting here or are expanding here, meaning that the business climate is good here, and since the jobs are getting filled, it means that people have a desire to live here. That is definitely something worth taking credit for; all of this did happen under this NDP government.
5. Karwacki was fixed on Saskatoon.
While Wall and Calvert gave a pretty provincial take on things and issues, Karwacki's points were very much Saskatoon-centric. He was talking about Saskatoon crime, Saskatoon traffic and infrastructure, Saskatoon as a young people magnet, and Saskatoon people who he talked to during the campaign. While it is true that his own constituency where he is running is in Saskatoon, and his party's only real shot is in some select Saskatoon constituencies, it really doesn't make him look fit to be a party leader—never mind a premier—who actually has the interests of such foreign places like Estevan and Regina in mind (kinda reminds me of Gilles Duceppe's 'geographical bias').
6. The taped questions by Saskatchewan residents often had a bias against the NDP.
I noticed that many of the questions asked by the people had a strong, obvious bias against the status quo (a.k.a. the NDP). For instance, one guy from Swift Current said that the roads in Saskatchewan are terrible and that it's impossible to drive somewhere without stuff falling off your car. Since it's currently the NDP who is in charge of the roads, and is backing up their track record on highways, that question is completely out of line. The question itself shouldn't have a political position.

And finally my number seven point, which, while not really having much to do with anything, is something I still think should be said for those who missed the debate. I noticed that after the first question (which was asked by an older guy in Regina with the subject of what are you damned politicians going to do with my hard-earned money), Karwacki actually laughed a bit (this was caught on tape because he was the first one to answer the question). I think this was because, with absolutely no offence to the questioner, the guy did have a kind of 'funny' or 'different' voice/vocal expression. I am not at all saying that Karwacki is losing all electoral chances to do this, but it does make him look like a snobby jerk.

Despite my above points, there was enough substance in last night's debate. However, I do not believe that there was an actual winner; no one really screwed up or said anything down-right stupid. A week until the election … isn't it all so exciting?

Written by Alex at 9:00 AM

Labels: election, Saskatchewan, summary

NUPGE on Sask. Election

THis comes from the NUPGE site.

The guide is available at the site above. It is in PDF form and 13 pages so I didn't reproduce it here!


SGEU Election Guide emphasizes quality public services

Protecting public services is a critical issue when Saskatchewan votes Nov. 7

Regina (30 Oct. 2007) - The Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union (SGEU/NUPGE) has produced an Election Guide to assist members in making the "important choices" that confront them when they go to the polls in the Nov. 7 provincial election.

At the top of the list is the critical question of "which political party supports quality public services," the union says.

"Quality public services make Saskatchewan a great place to live. They keep our families safe and healthy. They provide good jobs for Saskatchewan people, especially in rural areas. Protecting public services is a critical issue in this election," SGEU says.

The guide "offers some facts and potential questions to ask political candidates" and is meant to "help members sort through the information and advertisements of different political parties during the election campaign." NUPGE

Brad Wall

THis is a useful thumbnail sketch of Wall and his progress within the Sask. Party. It will be interesting to see if Wall goes back to the Devine privatisation scheme that shed many crown corporations to eager capitalists who now no doubt will be happy to see the NDP go. However, the NDP has done nothing to reverse the Devine actions. In fact the NDP recently sold its half interest in an oil upgrader. The NDP is little different from the Sask. Party on tax cuts including to corporations and also is reactionary on oil royaltie and says zilch about government ownership in the oil area. The NDP under Calvert as under Romanow turned sharply right and shows no sign of changing. Notice that Calvert has said boo about the Wheat Board all through this campaign. He has just written off the rural constituencies a rather ironic situation for the successor to the CCF!

Brad Wall
Swift Current [ Saskatchewan Party ]
Kevin O'Connor | CBC Online News | Updated Oct. 10, 2007

After many hours on the practice field and some pre-season action, football fan and Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall is finally getting his chance to go for the big trophy — forming a government.

His playbook on the campaign trail will no doubt contain a number of lessons from the last two general elections; 1999 and 2003 were both cliffhangers where the Saskatchewan Party under former leader Elwin Hermanson had strong showings, but failed to topple the governing NDP.

Soon after the 2003 loss, Hermanson announced he'd be stepping down as leader. Wall ran unopposed for the leadership and took over the reins of the party a year later.

Before politics
Born in Swift Current in 1965, the University of Saskatchewan graduate's resumé includes a number of activities outside the legislature. He was once Swift Current's director of business development, and managed the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame museum. He also started a tourism-related business.

Still, Wall, 41, who has three children with his wife Tami, has been involved in politics for much of his adult life. He began as an assistant to Progressive Conservative cabinet ministers Graham Taylor and John Gerich during the Grant Devine years, a connection the NDP would later repeatedly try to use against him.

His first attempt at running for office was for the PCs in Swift Current, in the 1991 election that would return the NDP to power. Wall lost that race, but had better luck running as a Saskatchewan Party candidate in 1999, defeating the NDP's John Wall (no relation).

Winning 25 seats in that election was considered by some observers as an extraordinary accomplishment for a party that had been created less than three years earlier following the merger of four Liberal MLAs and four Progressive Conservative MLAs.

In 1999, the Saskatchewan Party wasn't able to oust NDP Premier Roy Romanow from his office (despite being in a minority government position, the NDP forged a coalition with the Liberals and clung to power), but it did win the contest for the popular vote.

Coming close in 2003
That wasn't repeated in 2003 election, with the New Democrats getting more votes than the Saskatchewan Party as well as its two-seat majority. Many saw Hermanson's musings on the campaign trail about selling Crown corporations as a turning point in the 2003 campaign.

Wall has since declared that a Saskatchewan Party government wouldn't touch the Crowns.

Nevertheless, the issue of privatizing provincially owned enterprises has remained an exceedingly sensitive one for the party. When one of his MLAs, Dan D'Autremont, recently talked about winding down burglar alarm company SecurTek, an arm of SaskTel, because it competed with the private sector, Wall was quick to say that wasn't the policy at all.

Wall hasn't seen any challenges to his leadership, although one of his MLAs — Weyburn-Big Muddy's Brenda Bakken Lackey — stepped down, saying little about why except to suggest she was having trouble bringing her constituents' concerns forward.

With Wall at the helm, the Saskatchewan Party has stepped up attacks on how the NDP is managing health care. During question period, the Opposition has focused on waiting lists for cancer treatment. It has also focused on jobs and the economy, repeatedly blaming the long-term exodus of young people from Saskatchewan on NDP policies.

It has asked dozens of questions on the case of Murdoch Carriere, the fired provincial government manager who was convicted of assaulting two of his own employees and who received a $275,000 settlement. It has also raised a 15-year-old case of a former NDP caucus employee who inflated her own pay cheques, allegedly helping herself to thousands of dollars of public funds she wasn't entitled to. In the fallout from that debate, the police became involved, a senior NDP staffer resigned and a cabinet minister, Glenn Hagel, stepped down.

A move toward the centre
A number of academics and media observers have noted Wall's Saskatchewan Party was originally right of centre on the political spectrum, but has moved toward the centre in recent years.

Wall, however, has resisted such characterizations, calling the Saskatchewan Party a mainstream party.

The right-left distinction has been further blurred as some policies that were once the domain of the Saskatchewan Party, such as calls for major cuts to personal and corporate taxes, have been embraced by the NDP since 2003.

The Saskatchewan Party, meanwhile, has changed direction on the controversial TILMA interprovincial trade deal. A year ago, Wall was urging the NDP government to show more enthusiasm for the agreement that Alberta and B.C. had already signed. Later, Wall said his party had decided TILMA, which allows a freer flow of jobs and commerce across interprovincial lines, was a bad idea after all because it might hurt the Crowns.

In social policy, there has been moderation in Saskatchewan Party policies, too. The Saskatchewan Party once supported sending young offenders to "boot camp," a proposal that didn't catch fire with the public and has been quietly dropped.

The NDP says Wall's voter-friendly policies are a recent development and in TV commercials has literally portrayed the Saskatchewan Party as a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Football in hand
Wall's response has been to try to reassure voters that they're not "scary" and to accuse the NDP of being fearmongers.

That was the theme of a recent TV commercial showing a casually dressed Wall with a football in his hand at his son's football practice.

Will a new quarterback make the difference for the Saskatchewan Party in 2007? Saskatchewan is about to find out.

Politics of Envy and Fear in Canada

This is a from a California website. The author is a bit goofy in thinking that the NDP is socialist or even socialistic. The NDP is busy selling an interest in an oil upgrader. It has complained about Sask Party supposed plans to sell crowns when the NDP has done zilch to reverse privatisation. The NDP could be rolling in dough from uranium, potash, oil and gas but all those govt. owned companies are gone. THe NDP is now in effect advertising itself to the ALberta oil patch as having a favorable royalties regime compared to ALberta. Strange type of socialism.

Politics of Envy and Fear in Canada
October 27, 2007 1:00 AM

Saskatchewan: resource-rich and socialism-poor
PJM Saskatchewan: The attack ads are running and the half-hearted promises for change are being made. Catherine McMillan reports on the election campaign in one of Canada’s most politically-charged provinces.

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By Catherine McMillan

The Saskatchewan election campaign kicked off a full month before the election call, complete with wall-to-wall government advertising and the unveiling of the governing New Democratic Party’s “Wolf In Sheeps Clothing” attack ad against the opposition Saskatchewan Party. The NDF ad was originally intended to suggest that the Saskatchewan Party was the old Conservative Party under a new guise as represented by a dog-like wolf in sheep’s clothing. (For those who are unfamiliar with Saskatchewan politics, the New Democratic Party is on the left and the Saskatchewan Party is somewhat to right of them.)

But ironically, it was the SaskParty who did the unveiling. The latest in a summer’s full of leaks from NDP inner circles, the spot was renamed “Lambchop, The Dog-Faced Sheep” and ridiculed before the ad could even be launched. But launch it the NDP did, albeit with a more sinister looking “wolf” in place of the decidedly Alaskan Malamutish “dog” of the original version.

He must have enjoyed the ridicule, for when Premier Lorne Calvert finally dropped the writ (for November 7th) last week, he followed by teasing that Saskatchewan residents could expect the “the boldest new social program in Canada in a decade or longer.”

That program is a universal drug plan that would cap approved medications at $15 for every Saskatchewan resident, regardless of age or means. Unsurprisingly, no costing for the program was provided.

The response was immediate and overwhelmingly negative. The NDP drug plan proposal quickly became dubbed “the answer to a question no one was asking.” With 43 cents of every government budget dollar already spent on health care in the province, it reminded voters of the existing, unsolved problems of ER and bed closures, long waiting lists for diagnostics and surgery, and doctor and nursing shortages. A universal drug plan was seen as a blatant vote-buying exercise, that if implemented would only divert scarce tax dollars from more pressing needs.

And it might have been the end of the beginning for the governing NDP, had it not been for the race of the SaskParty to join them in the crosshairs.

Before the critics’ ink had dried, Sask party had responded with a “while you’re slapping them around, don’t forget us” by proposing a stripped down version of a drug plan for seniors and youth, complete with the same $15 cap. The best that could be said for the plan was that it was “a less expensive answer to a question no one was asking.”

There’s a saying about never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity. While three weeks yet remain, the drug plan debacle may, in the end, serve as a metaphor for the entire campaign.

A month ago, a 16 year old union-led NDP government was bracing to survive a wave of attitudinal change sweeping over a province that has finally glimpsed “this year country” might finally be Saskatchewan.

With the second largest oil reserves in Canada (recent exploration hints that Saskatchewan’s oil sands reserves may rival those of Alberta), 25% of the planet’s uranium deposits, the source of 33% of world potash supplies, more arable land than all other provinces in Canada combined, and prices for energy, mining and agricultural commodities at near record levels, optimism for the prairie province’s long term economic health has zoomed. These prospects spurred a flirtation with the type of pro-free enterprise attitude whose absence has so long distinguished resource-rich and socialism-poor Saskatchewan from its more prosperous neighbor to the west.

Yet, despite these positives, the province’s population still can’t manage to top the 1 million mark. It is still leaking people. And private enterprise is still twitchy about making significant investments in the province.

The long-standing exodus of Saskatchewan youth to more prosperous regions has created a “donut” demographic, with the very young and elderly representing disproportionate ratios of the population, and the predictable drain on social and health resources.

Add to that a tradition of left-leaning governments with a taste for “crown corporation” ownership, unfriendly tax regimes and powerful labour laws, along with opportunistic “public investment” in vote-generating business ventures - and private capital long ago fled to other jurisdictions to invest.

This situation didn’t come about by accident. While it seems cliche to mention it some 70 years later, the psychology behind what has been called Saskatchewan’s “politics of fear and envy” still traces its origins to the dustbowl depression of the 1930’s and the profound psychic impact it had on the province and its politics. It was in the dustbowl era that the predecessor to the NDP, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was born. The CCF pledged that they would not “rest content until it has eradicated capitalism and put into operation the full programme of socialized planning,” a program that has adherents in the province and some would argue - in the NDP government - to this day.

To illustrate how strongly this mentality still pervades within elements of their base, the New Democrat campaign “wolf” ads warn that the SaskParty would “turn Saskatchewan into a carbon copy of Alberta.”

In essence, the ad expects voters to regard the prospect of becoming like Alberta — the principle driver of the Canadian economy (with a growth rate of over 4% GDP), where more jobs were created in 2006 than all other provinces combined — a province that collects no provincial sales tax and has no provincial debt — a fate too ghastly to contemplate.

The ad plays on these ridiculous fears because it works and some voters will undoubtedly reject the SaskParty on that account. Only in Saskatchewan can the phrase “quality of life” be synonymous with both “moral superiority” and “lower standard of living.”

So, with the first week of campaigning behind us, the difference between the two parties reduces to a single word - change. Are we to resist Alberta-like change, as the NDP warns, or embrace the half-hearted “we promise to be careful” change offered by the SaskParty.

In this most political of provinces (the only one in which both major parties are home grown) it won’t be those of the entrenched rural right or labour left who decide the outcome. The decision will ultimately lie with the middle-of-the-road swing voters. Will they be ready to sweep 16 years of socialist government aside for a slightly less left-of-center version?

Has the premier’s 4 year project of civil servant hiring been negated by the more recent influx of private sector migrants following the economic boom? The abundance of Alberta license plates in evidence these days suggests it might be so. (Providing they vote.)

And perhaps the most important question of all - will the Saskatchewan Party leave the security of pre-election poll results showing their party with a wide lead to campaign like a government in waiting? Is SaskParty leader Brad Wall going to step up his “football dad” image and act like a premier?

Will he lead the wave or just hope to ride the “change for change’s sake” trend to victory?

At the moment, there is a sense of the latter. He may passively ride the trend. The SaskParty platform, while well thought out and publicly detailed, is decidedly tepid. The campaign style seems haunted by the fear of misstep. They’ve forgotten that battles aren’t won by keeping one’s head low.

There is a sense here that this is a province that is ready to take off economically and demographically. Property values are rising exponentially, the decades-long pattern of young adults leaving for greener pastures finally looks to be reversing.

The fundamentals are in place. But attitudes are another matter. If the SaskParty fails to offer a well-defined and clearly articulated contrast to the current government, they’ll be well on their way to branding their party as a watered-down version of the status quo.

And in economic good times, everyone knows the best place to go for the status quo.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elections Saskatchewan
Campaign websites:

Saskatchewan New Democrats
Saskatchewan Party
Saskatchewan Liberal Party

Catherine McMillan writes at Small Dead Animals

Wall admits trying pot!

At least no one attacked Wall for coming clean. What we need in the Saskatchewan election is a poll that could give up to date data for making predictions. I am surprised that no polls have been forthcoming so fra. Calvert looks dour enough to be against the legalisation of pot.

Saskatchewan politician admits he smoked pot
James Wood , CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, October 26, 2007
SASKATOON -- In Saskatchewan provincial circles, it's a story that's generating a lot of buzz. So to speak.

The province's party leaders, campaigning in a provincial election, were forced to reveal their past use or non-use of marijuana Thursday, after Saskatchewan Party leader Brad Wall told a reporter he had, in fact, inhaled.

Asked about the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party's call for legalization of the weed, Wall said his party opposed the notion. Asked whether he'd ever smoked the stuff himself, Wall paused, then confessed.


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Font:****"I'm going to have to now phone my mom and make sure I tell her how I had answered that question before you go to air," he joked.

Wall said his use of marijuana was "infrequent" when he attended university and "it didn't really do anything for me, luckily, because for some, it does lead to other things."

Wall ended up being the token toker among the three leaders of the main parties.

NDP Leader Lorne Calvert said he never used marijuana -- although he acknowledged he might have incidentally inhaled during his early-1970s university days.

"To be fair, when I was first a student at the University of Saskatchewan, I think a fair number of my colleagues did and indeed, wandering the hallways, I suppose, just secondhand . . . but not on a personal basis," he said to laughter from NDP supporters.

Liberal Leader David Karwacki also said he had not used marijuana.

Calvert said he did not think past marijuana use by a political leader was an issue at all, a point agreed to by University of Regina political scientist Ken Rasmussen.

Politicians today can be more honest about their past experience with marijuana and not suffer as a consequence, said Rasmussen, who said the issue is still a little overblown today.

"But (Brad Wall) probably did the smart thing in admitting it, because there's probably some people (who were) there, smoking with him," he said.

"He looks groovy and youthful now. He'll get the young vote."

Wall said he opposed the legalization of marijuana because he believes it does serve as a gateway to harder drugs, and there's no adequate test for drivers impaired by marijuana use.

Calvert doesn't favour legalization or decriminalization either, but added it's a matter for the federal government.

Karwacki said he does not favour legalization, but said pot should be decriminalized to keep young people from going to jail for possession.

Saskatoon StarPhoenix




© CanWest News Service 2007

Liberal Leader: Sask. Party figures don't add up.

This is from Google. This is a common type of criticism. Often programs do not have figures associated with them. When they do it is usually easy to criticise them. Sometimes it is justified sometimes not. This article does not give enough details to tell. At least the Sask. Party had a third party cost the figures. Interesting that the Sask. Party is picked as a target rather than the NDP.

Numbers in Sask. Party platform don't add up: Liberal leader
SASKATOON - Saskatchewan Liberal Leader David Karwacki says the numbers in the Saskatchewan Party election platform just don't add up.

Karwacki says there are more than two dozen items that either don't have a price tag attached, or whose costs have been underestimated - including a plan to hire 800 new nurses and a tuition rebate for graduates.

Karwacki also questions the Saskatchewan Party's promise to create Enterprise Saskatchewan, a public-private economic development agency which would advise government.

The Liberal leader says that will put government decisions in the hands of unelected officials.

The Saskatchewan Party says, if it wins the provincial election Nov. 7, its budgets would run surpluses of between $32 million and $42 million over four years.

The party says it had the math verified by the Ontario-based Centre for Spatial Economics.

NDP candidate withdraws after "inappropriate" comments.

Facts should always be checked before making allegations such as Potts did. Apparently the NDP was able to obtain another candidate before the deadline closed.
I have seen rental properties with one sign on the lawn and a different one in the window. Of course I have also seen lawns with three signs where people residing in the building have seen fit to express their differing political allegiances. I suppose that technically the landowner should have control over what sign is posted on the property but most landowners either let any sign be posted or none. That certainly creates less conflict.

NDP candidate withdraws after 'inappropriate' comments
Veronica Rhodes , CanWest News Service
Published: Monday, October 22, 2007
REGINA - On the urging of Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert, the NDP's candidate in Swift Current, Sask., has stepped down after making questionable comments about Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall and his father.

According to a press release issued Monday from the NDP, Jeff Potts has withdrawn from the race after admitting to making comments that Saskatchewan New Democrats deemed "inaccurate and inappropriate."

Potts, who was running against Wall for the seat in Swift Current - about 250 kilometres west of Regina - confirmed he wrote on rabble.ca's discussion forum under the name Famouspipeliner.


Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert

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Font:****In discussing the Saskatchewan election on the forum, Potts wrote on Oct. 15 that Wall's father John, a Swift Current city councillor who owns some low-rent properties in the city, was putting his son's campaign signs on the rental properties.

About 10 hours later, Potts followed up with this post: "Further to my previous point, there is a Brad Wall sign (rental property) on a known crack house."

The Saskatchewan Party called the comments libellous and urged Calvert to immediately dump Potts as an NDP candidate.

In an interview Monday before his resignation, Potts said he was not inferring the alleged crack house was owned by Wall's father and pointed out the blog posts were made several hours apart.

"I did not allege that it was Mr. Wall's property... I did not say they had any knowledge of what was going on in this house,"_Potts said.

"What I am saying is they are more concerned about putting up the sign than they are about the people living in the house. They should check before putting up the signs on the rental properties. Maybe they should check with the people who are renting them."

According to a Saskatchewan Party news release, John Wall does not currently own any rental properties - a fact of which Potts said he was not aware. Potts said he had no intention of linking the two posts, and was just trying to raise the issues of affordable rental properties and drug abuse in Swift Current.




© Regina Leader-Post

NDP does not disclose all donations

John Courtney a retired U of S poli sci prof. agrees. . There seems no good reason for the NDP to have acted in this manner except to not bother listing donors. THe other parties do so. I believe that Sask. Party may actually have filed a complaint. It could be a bit of an embarassment but is not that big of an issue. Surely everyone knows that the Sask. NDP is a third way type that will get money and support beyond the confines of solid working class comrades etc. If some Sask. companies should buy tickets for an NDP dinner no one is going to ostracise them!

Election 2007 News

Calvert NDP Breaks Election Law by Hiding Millions of Dollars in Donations
$2.5 Million in Hidden Donations to NDP Since Calvert Took Office
Friday - October 19, 2007
The Calvert NDP has violated The Elections Act by refusing to disclose the sources of over $2.5 million in party donations since Lorne Calvert took office.

Saskatchewan Party candidate Nancy Heppner today demanded that Lorne Calvert immediately disclose his $2.5 million hidden donation list.

“The law is clear,” Heppner said. “Every donation of over $250 must be disclosed. The NDP has broken the law by collecting over $2.5 million in hidden donations since Lorne Calvert took office and he needs to explain why.”

The NDP has stated that, if a donation is made through the sales of tickets to an event and no tax receipt is requested, the donor list does not need to be disclosed.

That’s simply not the case, according to The Election Act.

Jean Ouellet, the province's chief electoral officer, said Section 250 of The Election Act indicates that a party's annual return must set out the amount of money provided by individuals, corporations, trade unions, associations or other group of persons, in the fiscal year for use by the party. The name of the donor and the specific amount contributed are required when the contribution is in excess of $250, the act says.

“Tax receipts have absolutely nothing to do with whether you have to disclose donations,” Heppner said. “You can’t hide donations by simply not issuing a tax receipt.”

The NDP has collected over $2.5 million through sales of tickets to events since 2001 without disclosing the names of the donors. Heppner said both the Saskatchewan Party and the Liberals comply with the Act by providing full disclosure of the names of all donors, including those who donate by purchasing tickets to events.

For a complete backgrounder, click here.

Heppner said the Saskatchewan Party will consider filing a formal complaint with the Chief Electoral Office if Lorne Calvert does not release his hidden donation list immediately.

“The NDP seems to think the law doesn’t apply to them,” Heppner said. “What is Lorne Calvert hiding?”

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For more information, Saskatchewan Party, Regina, 359-1638 or 1-800-966-9611.

NDP calls for Citizen Assembly

This sounds like a good idea. Perhaps some form of proportional representation could eventually be voted on. It would certainly help parties such as the Greens, and Liberals. This is from the NDP website.

NDP Calls for Citizen Assembly
Published October 19, 2007
Premier Lorne Calvert announced today that within six months of re-election he would convene a Citizen’s Assembly to make recommendations on improving the functioning of democratic institutions in Saskatchewan.

“Democracy is much too important to be left solely to politicians,” Calvert said. “When significant change to our democracy is being proposed, it is absolutely vital that that process be led by the citizens, and not the politicians, of Saskatchewan.”

The Citizens’ Assembly will be a non-partisan group of randomly-selected individuals who reflect Saskatchewan’s demographics and geographical regions. The Assembly would consult widely and propose changes to the province’s electoral system. Among the items it would consider are:

fixed election dates;
methods for increasing voter participation;
representative models; and
voting age.
Recommendations dealing with questions of fundamental nature to the functioning of our democracy, including representative models and the voting age, will be considered by the people of Saskatchewan through a referendum. Recommendations dealing with non-fundamental questions, including fixed election dates and methods of increasing voter participation, will be considered by the Legislative Assembly in advance of the next general election and could be in place by that time.

The Chief Electoral Officer will be involved in the process and the Citizens’ Assembly will have access to government and academic administrative and research-related supports. It is expected to cost $3 million over four years.

“A stronger Saskatchewan is a Saskatchewan where the citizens are firmly engaged and in charge of the democratic process,” Premier Calvert said. “I look forward to the vigorous public debate which this process will unleash, and I am confident that this will engage even more people into our democratic process.

“On November 7th, Saskatchewan voters face a choice. They can risk change by electing the Saskatchewan Party, who will say anything to get elected, or they can choose the NDP, who wants to put citizens firmly in charge of our democratic process.”

Fringe parties add spice to Sask. Election

Not a great deal of spice it seems as they do not seem to be much of a factor. However, it is always interesting to see what other parties and policies are involved. The Liberals are a bit more than a fring party. They may pick up some seats. There is not too much detail about any of the policies but I guess the marijuana party's platform is clear.

Fringe parties add a little spice to the election

JASON SMALL
The Moose Jaw Times Herald

This whole provincial election has been the duel of two major parties, with the odd sprinkling of the Liberal party thrown in to at least give the illusion.
But despite the obvious fact that only two parties have any legitimate chance at forming government on Nov. 8, there are more than just the NDP, Sask. Party and Liberals in the 2007 Saskatchewan election.
We’ve now seen the Green party surface locally with candidates in Moose Jaw Wakamow and Thunder Creek. As of Wednesday, the party had 36 candidates in the province’s 58 ridings.
Of the other four parties, there is the revived Progressive Conservative party, running its leader, and former P.C. cabinet minister Rick Swenson, who is seeking his old seat in Thunder Creek.
The P.C. party denounces the Sask. Party, which was created by P.C.s and Liberals in 1997. While the party’s website doesn’t indicate there are many other candidates in the election, Swenson has a big enough draw that he could do some damage to incumbent Lyle Stewart in the election in the battle for votes on the right.
The Western Independence Party is pretty self-explanatory. The party firmly believes that Western Canada should separate from the rest of the country. There is also a national version of this party.
While some people might think Western independence is a little kooky, the party has a handful of candidates ready to push its message and a good website explaining the party’s message.
Then there is the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party. This party’s mission should be even more self-evident — it’s against the prohibition of marijuana.
So far, there isn’t much indication on the party’s website of candidates for the election but they’re probably taking it easy.
Of all the parties, the biggest mystery appears to be the Saskatchewan Democratic Action Party.
The party’s website is under construction. It says “Vote SDAP 2007” but you can’t get any information about the party.
I did find a video on Youtube that says: “In case you were wondering what the Saskatchewan Democratic Action Party stands for . . .” Then, after watching a party logo spin around for a few seconds it says: “We make no apologies. Everyone gets a say. Vote SDAP 2007.”
Huh? That’s it? Oh well, it’s not likely this phantom will contribute much, if anything to the election, but at least it’s contributing a little humour, even if it’s unintentional.
As for the rest, at least some of the lesser-knowns seem serious about getting their message out, even if it won’t be heard very loudly.

Jason Small can be reached at 691-1255.

Election defection proves no coup

It seems rather remarkable that Opikokew should be made NDP campaign manager immediately after defecting from the Liberals. The NDP must be having troubles recruiting staff! Anyway it seems that his tenure as manager did not outlast the revelation of his credentials.

Election defection proves no coup
Janet French, The StarPhoenix
Published: Tuesday, October 16, 2007
A Liberal candidate hopeful who announced with fanfare Monday he was defecting to support the NDP was kicked off the Liberal roster for hiding criminal charges he's facing, the Liberals say.

Late Monday afternoon, the NDP issued a news release saying Nathan Opikokew, who was to run as the Liberal candidate in the northwestern riding of Athabasca, had decided instead to become Buckley Belanger's campaign manager. Belanger is the NDP's minister of community resources and is up for re-election in Athabasca.

The Saskatchewan Liberals' director of communications, Michel Liboiron, said Opikokew didn't quit -- they told him he couldn't run after research into his background revealed he was in trouble with the law.


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Font:****"We deemed it inappropriate to pursue the candidacy of Mr. Opikokew," Liboiron said, adding Opikokew was never officially nominated as the Liberal candidate in the riding.

RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Tammy Patterson said Opikokew, 22, has made several court appearances after police charged him with assault with a weapon and mischief. Patterson didn't know any details about the incident that led to the charges. Beauval RCMP are investigating, she said.

Liboiron said when Opikokew first wanted to be a Liberal candidate in the Nov. 7 provincial election, the party's election readiness team asked him if any problems in his background would affect his ability to be a candidate, and he said no.

The Liberals learned of Opikokew's charges Wednesday, Liboiron said, and on Thursday, told him he could not run as a candidate. The party did not appreciate him providing misleading information, Liboiron said.

"If the NDP wants Mr. Opikokew's services as a campaign manager for one of their candidates then it's entirely up to them," Liboiron said.

Contacted at his Ile-a-la-Crosse home Monday night, Belanger said Opikokew contacted him "out of the blue" on Sunday wanting to join his campaign. Belanger offered him a job as campaign manager.

Belanger said he rescinded that job offer Monday evening when he learned of Opikokew's legal troubles. When he called Opikokew to find out what those troubles were, the man told him they were "minor in nature."

"It was discouraging," Belanger said. "The fact that he didn't disclose that information to me at the outset, it did not preclude itself to having a good relationship with him."

Belanger is on the hunt for a new campaign manager now, and it's unlikely Opikokew will be involved in his re-election campaign, he said. Belanger said he does not know what happened to prompt the charges.

In light of the Liberals' campaigning on accountability, Belanger said he wants to know why the Liberals did not disclose last week the reason they removed Opikokew from the roster.

Opikokew did not respond to messages left for him Monday.

Earlier Monday, in his brief tenure as Belanger's campaign manager, Opikokew said in a news release unity between people of the North and finding new ways to support youth were his priorities.

"I made my decision to join the NDP team because I believe they are the best party to help the North move forward, and to ensure that our people share in the economic prosperity Saskatchewan continues to enjoy."

Belanger was first elected in the Athabasca riding in 1995 as a Liberal candidate. He later defected to the NDP, and regained his seat as a New Democrat in a 1998 byelection.

jfrench@sp.canwest.com

Conservative Party of Sask. Agriculture Policy

Yes! There is a Progressive Conservative Party of Sask. I guess there is some desire to keep the name alive but most of the troops are over at the Sask. Party! The agricultural policy seems to be mostly in the past for good reason.

AGRICULTURE POLICY
October 15th, 2007 Today, the PC Party of Saskatchewan begins its rollout of policy initiatives for the provincial election campaign. The PC Party believes it is appropriate that agriculture should be dealt with first as Saskatchewan is Canada’s largest agriculture province. Unlike the other parties who are totally preoccupied with buying voters with their own money, the PC Party believes in assisting Saskatchewan’s natural strengths to build the economy and so to benefit all of Saskatchewan’s citizens. Leader Rick Swenson says “the dollars we are committing to these policy announcements are sustainable long-term commitments well within the current budget of the province.”

The P.C. Party government worked with producers to bring about Saskatchewan’s first ethanol plant at Poundmaker Feedlot near Lanigan, Saskatchewan. We believe that strategy was correct then as it is today and would encourage community-based development of ethanol and biodiesel production along side intensive livestock operations. The PC Party has successfully used the tax system to make this a successful venture and would work with industry to make it happen again.
The PC Party has a long history of developing value-added agricultural enterprises in the province of Saskatchewan and believes today with the changing environment in marketing and transportation that it is absolutely crucial to expand these areas in the future. Therefore, a PC Party government would match dollars with private sector developers, cities of Saskatoon, Regina and Moose Jaw and the Federal Government to bring an inland container port to Saskatchewan so that agriculture-value added processing and related industries can compete on the world stage.
The PC Party in the past through the development of GRIP and NISA programs fought for funding equality on the national level. We believe that the funding fairness is out of sync with reality in the current 60/40 funding formula split between the federal government and the provincial governments on disaster assistance. This formula must be changed to reflect Saskatchewan’s huge land base.
The PC Party government brought about the last large scale irrigation development along Lake Diefenbaker, the Saskatchewan River and the Qu’Appelle River systems. A PC Party government would commit to sustainable, long-term development of our water resources by committing a minimum of $10 million dollars per year over current funding levels split evenly between infill of existing projects and new construction.
Swenson also says, “we believe these policies will help return prosperity to producers in Saskatchewan through better opportunities and to help them do what they do best – grow food for the world.”

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NDP Energy Plan.

Part of the plan is simply for expansion of existing programs. No details are given. There is no dollar figure for either the Loan Fund or the Greening Communities Fund. It is all rather sketchy with no meat on the bones. This is from the NDP website.

NDP Energy Plan Will Save People Money On Energy Bills
Published October 18, 2007
Premier Lorne Calvert’s NDP government has announced an energy plan that will provide significant savings to Saskatchewan people.
"Energy conservation will help Saskatchewan people save money on their energy bills while also helping Saskatchewan meet its greenhouse gas targets, which are the most ambitious in Canada" Calvert said. "With these new programs, Saskatchewan will develop the most comprehensive energy conservation measures in Canada, and our residents and businesses will save money as a result."

Calvert said that his government will expand its existing range of grants, rebates, and exemptions to include even more energy efficient products; will unveil a brand-new Energy Conservation Loan Fund for homeowners, farmers and businesses to invest in energy conservation or small-scale renewable energy projects; and will establish a Greening Communities Fund to help communities upgrade facilities such as rinks and museums in order to increase their energy efficiency.

Cindy Hanson and Doug Racine welcome today's news. They completed their first Energuide audit in 2002, and are planning to undergo another audit of their home. "It gets you thinking about what you can do to make your home more energy efficient. The investments we have made are both energy saving and cost saving," Hanson said.

"My government believes that our economic prosperity is not secure until it is environmentally sustainable," Calvert said. "We have led in the development of renewable energy and alternative fuels, pioneered carbon capture technology and were the first province to mandate ethanol use in gasoline. Today's announcement provides opportunity for our citizens and communities to do their part to address climate change, by conserving energy.

"Brad Wall is too big a risk for Saskatchewan families who care deeply about our natural environment," Calvert said. "Like their federal Conservative friends, the Saskatchewan Party does not take environmental protection seriously, and Sask Party MLA Don Toth even described global warming as ‘one big hoax.' Despite promising for months that we will see details of their plan to protect the environment, the Saskatchewan Party has kept their policy hidden. The Saskatchewan Party is too big of a risk for Saskatchewan families and our environmental future."

Sask. party avoiding mistakes of 2003

The NDP pharmacare plan is "one big thing"? It does not seem that big. After all there is already a plan that involves the province paying after 3 per cent of income is spent and also the 15 dollar cap for seniors for individual prescriptions so the addition of universality for the 15 dollar cap will be a substantial cost but not that huge. The plan makes more sense than the Sask. Party plan with means tests and limited coverage. This article marks the 15 as the dispensing fee! That seems very high to me for a dispensing fee.
The Sask Party claims it is the party of fiscal responsibility when the NDP has had 14 consecutive balanced budgets!

Sask. Party having its way
So far avoiding mistakes of 2003

Murray Mandryk
The Leader-Post


Saturday, October 13, 2007


SASKATOON -- We didn't know it at the time, but the Saskatchewan election campaign was already over at this point in the campaign four years ago.

Former Saskatchewan Party leader Elwin Hermanson's suggestion three days into the 2003 election that he might consider selling Saskatchewan's Crown corporations if the asking price was right proved to be the political equivalent of hara-kiri.

Evidently, Saskatchewan Party strategists have been determined not to make the same mistake this time around. Both the Saskatchewan Party and the Liberals made Day Two of the campaign about moderation and accountability:

- At a Nutana-riding pharmacy in this city, Saskatchewan Party leader Brad Wall unveiled Friday his party's version of a prescription drug plan -- a plan that caps seniors' prescription drugs at the $15 pharmacists' dispensing fee, except for the wealthiest five per cent with an annual income more than $64,043. Wall's plan also caps prescriptions for all children 14 years and under in the province at $15 and will add an additional $40 million annually to expand the Saskatchewan Prescription Drug Plan formulary to include more drugs.

- David Karwacki and the Liberals on Friday introduced their plan for transparency and accountability that, if elected, would expand the Provincial Auditor powers to examine MLAs' budgets. Karwacki also called for the mandatory disclosure of all MLAs' benefits. During the official launch of the Liberal campaign at his constituency office Thursday, Karwacki said he would put a lid on the MLAs' cookie jar and smash it.

- NDP leader Lorne Calvert's first day in Regina saw the NDP commit to the recommendations of former legislative secretary and now Post-Secondary Minister Warren McCall to reduce university tuition by $1,000 and continue a tuition freeze. Calvert also found himself warding off criticism that his own prescription drug plan is unaffordable while criticizing Wall's drug plan promise for its means testing.

Interestingly, Saskatchewan Party strategists didn't bristle at Calvert's comments Friday. In fact, they almost seemed to welcome them and that might have something to do with what they learned during the 2003 campaign and in the four years since.

First, by rolling out a pocketbook promise a day -- a la Stephen Harper's successful 2005-06 campaign -- the Saskatchewan Party is setting its own agenda so far, which hasn't stopped reporters from posing hypothetical questions on privatizing the Crown corporations, questions that had also been posed to Hermanson by this point in the campaign four years ago.

When asked by a reporter Friday what was the biggest mistake the Saskatchewan Party made in its 10 years, Wall quickly cited not being clear enough on Crown corporations and not respecting the Saskatchewan voter's strong desire to keep them public.

Of course, this didn't stop Calvert from suggesting in Moose Jaw on Friday that even though Wall has vowed the Saskatchewan Party will not privatize the Crowns, there's nothing stopping him from changing his mind if he gets into power. Nor will the Saskatchewan Party's early flurry of announcements stop reporters from posing the privatization question some time during the remaining 25 days of this campaign. But so far, the 2007 campaign hasn't been about what the Saskatchewan Party doesn't want to talk about.

The Day Two issue was clearly about the contrast in the prescription drug programs and the Saskatchewan Party claims this is exactly where it wants to fight this campaign.

At Calvert's election announcement Wednesday night, the buzz among New Democrats was that voters' minds would be made up in the first few days of the campaign. We now know that the NDP has big hopes for its universal drug plan, a promise designed to solidify the vote.

However, Wall said Friday the difference between Calvert's drug plan and his own may "already be the turning point" -- and one that has turned it in his party's favour. Voters have a clear choice between the NDP's costly and unnecessary plan and the Saskatchewan Party's targeted, moderate and costed-out approach, Wall contended.

One Saskatchewan Party insider privately acknowledged Friday the party's smaller-announcement approach -- including its alternative prescription drug plan policy that was actually reported last spring -- has come from policy pre-election focus groups.

"Somewhat to our surprise, we found out this is not what people want," the insider said. "If you have too big a promise, people get suspicious that you are just trying to buy them off.

"That was '80s politics. There was a real suspicion of 'one big thing.' I was really surprised (the NDP) went with 'one big thing.' "

The Saskatchewan Party says it is now the party of fiscal responsibility -- perhaps stretching it a bit given the NDP's record of 14 consecutive balanced budgets. However, the Sask. Party does seem to be in better shape than it was at this point in the campaign four years ago.