The province is due to have a provincial election this fall, and the ruling Sask. Party MLAs are ready and willing to take on all comers, and are expecting the campaign to be a tough fight.
The province is due to have a provincial election this fall, and the ruling Sask. Party MLAs are ready and willing to take on all comers, and are expecting the campaign to be a tough fight.
This was the message from both the Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA, Dustin Duncan, who serves as the Environment Minister, and from Education minister Donna Harpauer, who addressed the Weyburn-Big Muddy Spring Banquet for the Sask. Party on Thursday evening at McKenna Hall.
"I look forward to a vigorous campaign," said Duncan just prior to introducing Harpauer as the keynote speaker. "It has been an absolute privilege and honour to serve you. It's been an incredible five years and two elections, and I look forward to doing it in the future."
Harpauer, for her part, pulled no punches in going on the offensive, starting by noting how strong and unique this province is.
"There are so many unique things about this province, we're going to hear more and more about the 'Saskatchewan Advantage'. What a stark contrast to the past," she said, making reference to an NDP leader who once referred to this province as "a wee little province."
Noting the economic growth that is ongoing this year, she notes that Saskatchewan is first for building permits and housing starts, and for economic growth is second only to Alberta in the country, with oil and gas drilling to increase this year by 11 per cent. In addition, the population is now at 1, 052,000, the highest this province has ever been.
She then tallied how the government has specifically helped the Weyburn-Big Muddy riding, including a waste water project in Yellow Grass, the outdoor pool in Weyburn, facilities in Pangman and Bengough, the major renovations at the Weyburn Comp and St. Michael Schools, and funds for Southeast Regional College, with the grand total around $165 million, not counting the highways projects in this riding, or the property tax reductions that were in the budget.
"Once the federal election is completed, we need to be ready. You have one of the best candidates you can have; he is dedicated and hard-working, and is a man of integrity. I'm proud to have him as a colleague and friend, and he is a powerful force in cabinet and with the government," said Harpauer to applause, going on to warn of a tough campaign.
"It's not necessarily going to be an easy election. The NDP are going to promise everything and they aren't going to acknowledge their record," said Harpauer, going on to show the "promises" document the NDP have produced and which the Sask Party has been studying and pricing out.
"Just exactly how does Dwain (Lingenfelter) and the NDP plan on paying for this? He raised taxes 17 times when he was in government. He hasn't caught on yet that we're not going back to that (to being a have-not province)," said Harpauer.
She pointed out that Lingenfelter told the Gormley radio show in December that he was going to review the royalty structure for Saskatchewan, and asked, "How did that work for Alberta?"
She noted that the result of Alberta's review of the royalties ended up with a lot of oil money coming into Saskatchewan and helping to fuel the development of the Bakken play.
In spite of all this, said Harpauer, "It's still not going to be an easy election. They're going to pull out all the stops."
She suggested there will be more dirty tricks on the way, such as the recent dumping of medical files in a recycling bin in Regina.
The current government produced a balanced budget this spring, and that was including the reduction of property taxes on agricultural land, reducing small business tax from 4.5 to 2 per cent, and reducing income taxes to take another 114,000 people off the tax rolls.
The budget also fulfilled the government's promise to municipalities, she added.
