Premier Brad Wall’s former deputy minister was in the Battlefords Thursday, looking to convince Sask Party supporters that she should be the one to replace him as Premier.
Alanna Koch brought her campaign to the community, meeting with business and community leaders at a luncheon and then at a couple of receptions during the day. At one of them she was introduced by Battlefords MLA Herb Cox (who had previously introduced Ken Cheveldayoff at his campaign event).
Koch, whose campaign announced it had officially filed nomination papers this week, is trying to make history and become Saskatchewan’s first female Premier.
But in speaking to the News-Optimist Koch made clear she believes her biggest selling point is what she offers.
“The way I look at it is, it’s about strong leadership skills, it’s about experience, it’s about what you bring to the table. That’s what I hope people will judge me on, is what I bring to the table as a leader,” said Koch.
“The fact that I’m a woman — if people see that as a bonus, that’s great. I’ll take that, too.”
Koch acknowledged her background in government and private sector makes her a “different candidate than the other candidates in the race.”
While the other contenders have experience as MLAs and as cabinet ministers, Koch’s experience is mainly of the non-elected variety.
It includes a long stint as deputy minister of agriculture before taking over as deputy minister to the premier and cabinet secretary.
That allowed Koch to view the workings of government from the inside, particularly in dealing with the vast civil service.
“I think I was able to see very, very clearly what worked really well, but also what could be better as a result of those two experiences, and got to see the operational side of government in a big way,” said Koch.
She also has private sector and nonprofit experience with a particular focus on agriculture. She’s run her farm located outside of Regina, has run a nonprofit in the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, and was on the board of Agricore United. She also ran her own consulting business before becoming president of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, a role that allowed her to represent Canadian interests internationally.
She also brings some knowledge of education, having served as a school board trustee for a few years.
“I bring a different set of skills and certainly different experience than all the other candidates,” said Koch.
As for her leadership campaign, Koch made clear it will be based on her values such as “free market solutions, free trade, competitive business climate, fiscally responsible government, science-based decision making, taking care of our most vulnerable, and then making sure that growth and prosperity is of benefit to all Saskatchewan citizens,” she said.
Koch also believes she will offer a difference in style, by “focusing a lot on the ‘how’” when talking to Sask Party members.
“I would engage the public in more of a conversation about some of the options that we need to be thinking about forming government,” said Koch.
That includes “why we need to make the decisions that we need to make, what are the implications of all of those choices, how do we move forward on there so that there are no surprises, that we can kind of get the conversation going, more engaged, more open transparent government, so that when decisions need to be made – like for example the budget this past year – the public is much more well aware of what the options are, more context as to why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
As for where she stands on some of the major issues of the campaign, Koch said she is opposed to the Trudeau government’s national carbon tax – which she says “doesn’t solve anything” and “for us will be a huge burden” – and says she prefers an innovation-based “made in Saskatchewan” approach.
She is also against the “misguided, ridiculous” small business tax changes the federal government has proposed, which she called “devastating” to small business and farmers in the province.
On the issue of reinstating the PST exemption on insurance premiums - which was cut in the provincial budget – Koch says she is committed to a review of that decision but wants to “fully understand the implications of making a change” on the budget before going ahead with it.
As for the ongoing issue of the Global Transportation Hub, Koch is not ready to commit to a public inquiry just yet.
“We need to see what happens with the RCMP investigation, see what’s left unanswered. Perhaps all the questions will be answered and if so then I wouldn’t see a need for a public inquiry. So we have to wait and see for those results.”
But Koch adds she also wants to tell the other, more positive side of the GTH story – “that it’s an important piece of our infrastructure. Logistics hubs are things other jurisdictions around the world have.”
Koch intends to continue to campaign in all parts of the province through to the leadership vote on Jan. 27 of next year. She also plans to return to the Battlefords later in the campaign – including, in particular, at the leadership debate at the Dekker Centre on Nov. 16.
