Premier Brad Wall was in Yorkton to announce several major commitments for the province as part of his election campaign. Speaking at Potzus Construction, Wall announced commitments to highways, provincial parks and community rinks across the province. In the spirit of the election campaign, he also used the opportunity to take some shots at the recently announced NDP platform, and support local incumbent Greg Ottenbreit.
The first order of business was a commitment to continue the level of funding for highways, an investment of $2.2 billion over the next four years if elected. Wall says his party's highways spending was 64 per cent above what the previous NDP government did in its past four years.
He also says sticking with that level of funding is what is needed to get the province's highways back in order.
"As you know, there's still a lot of roads to be fixed in this province. The billion dollar deficit we took over from the NDP on highways is not going to be dealt with overnight," he states.
In terms of local projects, Wall says the Sask. Party is satisfied with the progress of phase 2 of the Yorkton Truck Bypass. One of the major projects for the next term will be a truck bypass in the Regina area, he predicts.
When it comes to parks, Wall committed to an additional $10 million if elected, with a focus on upgraded facilities, such as bathrooms and showers, along with increased numbers of electrified campsites.
"I think our parks are a great source of pride in our province... We need to invest in them, we need to support the public park system and regional parks, and we've done that. A 90 per cent increase in investment over four years and more work to do," Wall notes.
The final announcement is a planned grant for community rinks, which would give them $2,500 per ice surface, which includes 750 rinks in the province. Wall says that decision is largely about keeping the rinks going and easing some of the costs, as they are not an inexpensive proposition, and the government will not dictate how the money is spent.
When it comes to the opposition, Wall says that the NDP budget is too expensive, and too reliant on changing the potash royalty scheme. He also says that for a party so critical of his government's use of potash royalties, it is disappointing to see them rely so heavily on them.
"I think they looked at their platform and realize they have a $2.2 billion hole in their platform, and they're going to use potash to fill it. What does that do to projects in this area if they were to be the government? I don't think it bodes well for them if they have a $756 million royalty shock based on decisions they made using Mr. Calvert's potash royalties."
Wall notes that the Sask Party government maintained the potash royalty plan from the previous administration because it works, and he doesn't believe changing the rules would be beneficial to the province rather he says it could scare off potash expansion.
He also says that the costing on the opposition platform has been changing, and he believes they are writing the platform "on a napkin."
Wall praised Ottenbreit's record as MLA, saying he has been a voice for the interests of the city. He gives Ottenbreit credit for increased pre-kindergarten programs, increased childcare spaces, and additional investment in low income housing. He also praises both he and the city for their work in the flooding of last year, as well as he commends reports and informed decisions on how the disaster assistance fund would be adapted and improved.
Saskatchewan votes on November 7.
