Things aren't quite as rosy in Saskatchewan as the government makes them out to be, says the province's opposition leader.
John Nilson, who spoke to the News-Optimist just prior to Monday's start of the spring session of the legislature, said the New Democrats' priorities will be to make sure the Saskatchewan Party government, "which seems to have all the right soundbites," will be "actually doing things for people."
"Quite often we've seen the nice words but we haven't seen the results that affect you and your neighbours," said Nilson.
He noted issues in health care, education and elsewhere, and wants to "make sure government is solving problems rather than create more."
The opposition leader took aim at Premier Brad Wall, saying the premier was "talking out of both sides of his mouth."
Nilson described the premier as saying one moment the province is doing well, while the next moment he is musing about not being able to negotiate with workers who, Nilson describes, have been serving the province well for many years.
The NDP leader pointed to the striking down by the courts of the province's essential services legislation.
"It has caused lots of disruption in every community in Saskatchewan. We want to see what the solution they propose is. We think Saskatchewan people expect common sense solutions and that's an example of something that didn't work and won't work as long as they stick to the ideology they have."
The NDP plans to watch closely as the provincial finance minister Ken Krawetz brings down the budget March 21.
Nilson repeated a similar concern expressed by the NDP's education and finance critic Trent Wotherspoon on a visit to North Battleford the previous week: that cuts could be coming to a number of areas when the province brings the budget down later in March.
He said the party still doesn't know where those cuts would be, but raised the spectre that municipalities such as North Battleford might have to foot more of the bill for police services costs. He also pointed to the "clear statement," made by the province four years ago of cutting the civil service by 16 per cent.
"Every community needs to look around and see what the good services provided by government employees is going to be cut," said Nilson.
Nilson also expressed concern about shortfalls to education funding and called for the province to end the practice of using the general revenue fund as an accounting method, and to get in line with the standards of other provinces in that regard.
On two Battlefords issues of note, Nilson repeated earlier NDP criticisms of the Northland Power power-purchase agreement with SaskPower.
"We still don't know how the customers of SaskPower are going to pay for the power over the next 30 years," said Nilson.
Nilson also repeated his earlier call for the government to get on with construction of the new Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford. The province had committed $8 million towards detailed planning last summer, just prior to the election.
