In a few days the writ will be dropped and Saskatchewan voters will be heading to the polls. This is no surprise, because the Nov. 7 election was called the day after the last provincial election four years ago.
As for this campaign, I hope there will be no surprises as well, at least in terms of election promises.
Indeed, the party that wins should probably be the one that promises the least. That's because promises typically cost money - usually hundreds of million dollars each. With the way the global economy is heading, profligate spending should be at the bottom of the voters' list.
Not a day goes by without another headline about Greece's ongoing economic collapse. Will the European Union step in with another bailout package? Yes. Is this throwing good money after bad, for a people who seem to care less about getting their country's fiscal house in order? Yes. Is it dragging down the European economy, and to good measure, the world? Most likely.
We haven't heard much lately of Ireland, Portugal, and Spain and their debt crises. Suffice it to say, there's plenty of shaky houses of cards in Europe's economy. Italy's not faring so hot, either.
And how did these countries end up on economic skid row? The way most entities do - including people - by spending more than they make.
In Saskatchewan, our economy is doing incredibly well, with good to strong growth forecast - high enough to lead the provinces. This is due in large part to the fiscal restraint shown by the Romanow, Calvert and Wall governments over the last 20 years. We are within spitting distance of retiring our public debt, excluding our Crown corporation debt. If things go well, expect it to be totally gone before the next election.
That disciplined debt reduction since the days of Romanow going to New York to pull our collective butts out of the fire has stood us well. Servicing debt is now but a fraction of the provincial budget, which means we can spend more on roads, doctors and nurses.
If there are areas where we should expect some increases in funding, it is in these fields. Saskatchewan still has a critical shortage of health-care professionals. Training and recruiting more is absolutely necessary, although conversely it hits us hard in the annual budget pocketbook, as health care makes its inevitable march towards 50 per cent of all provincial spending.
Prince Albert needs a new bridge, right now, as well as immediate repairs to its current sole bridge across the North Saskatchewan River. Saskatoon needs to get going on both a replacement for the Victoria Bridge and a north bridge, even before the south bridge is completed.
In my opinion, most Saskatchewan highways I have travelled on in the last three years are in better shape that I have ever seen, although there are inevitable problem areas. This needs to continue, and more miles of roadway need to be improved.
Twinning of Highway 11 should be wrapped up in short order, and twinning of Highway 16 east of Saskatoon should be next on the agenda. This stretch should be known as the "Potash Corridor," home to most of our potash production from Saskatoon to the Manitoba border, and soon to be home to more mines. Beyond these simple increases, we must be wary of any pie-in-the-sky election promises. The precise reason why we are not in tough times is because of an established tradition of being tight with spending combined with high commodity prices in potash, oil and wheat. We need to be cautious of another marked drop in commodity prices should a true double-dip recession take hold worldwide.
Buying votes in 2011 is the last thing Saskatchewan needs. Punish anyone who says that is the way to go, perhaps by buying them a plane ticket to Greece.
Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net
