The Saskatchewan of 2010 is a different place from the Saskatchewan of even five years ago. At the annual Yorkton Chamber of Commerce Business Dinner, Premier Brad Wall spoke about the province being on a "new road," and about the different perspective since his party came into power.
Wall did not take complete credit for the changes in the province, instead insisting that it was a province-wide shift in attitudes, which was beginning to take place before his party formed government.
"I think a few years ago, we decided in our province collectively to take a new road, to take a road that we had not travelled in the past...
"Not the government, not the policies, not the economic growth, the choice that you made I think has made all the difference," Wall says.
He credits a change in attitudes throughout the province as being a primary driver behind the newfound prosperity that has occurred in the past few years, as well as his own election as the premier of the province.
As an example of this, Wall notes that in previous years there was a plan for decline, and there was a belief that it was impossible for the province to see growth. He credits a newfound willingness to embrace resources and take a different tack to improve the economy, both within the government and the population, with allowing the population growth the province, and the Yorkton area specifically, is seeing.
The different perspective allows for different plans, Wall says, and he points to efforts to reduce surgical wait times and increase medical training in the province. He notes that previous cuts to training positions for nurses and doctors exacerbated problems in heath care in the province, and that his government's increases in both fields is going to have long term benefits for local healthcare. He also defended the use of private clinics for some surgical procedures, saying that using all of the resources available to us, through a public system, is the most efficient way to ensure medicine is delivered effectively.
"If your plan for the wait list only involves the public system, and for some ideological reason rejects any partnership with the private sector, or even rural facilities where there is capacity, you can't get the job done," Wall says.
Wall also points out that the province is continuing the effort to fund clinical trials for the "liberation treatment" for MS patients. While he freely admits that the treatment might not work, Wall emphasizes that clinical trials are the only way to know for certain, and that giving a clear answer to people considering mortgaging their homes and spending thousands to get the treatment in a foreign country should be a priority. Given that the province has the highest rate of MS in the country, Wall believes giving people an answer is something that the province needs to do.
"Yes or no, does this work? Because if it does, that hope should be discovered, and if it doesn't, we owe that to people who are mortgaging their homes to go to Bulgaria."
One thing Wall also emphasized was that no area of the province can be neglected if Saskatchewan is going to succeed. While there had been times in the past where an area of the province had programs neglected or reduced, Wall notes, he says that keeping all industry healthy is the only way to succeed, and points to improving agricultural programs as something which has been and needs to be done to continue to succeed.
"If this province is going to succeed, it's because urban, rural, and northern Saskatchewan are walking together down this new road, and everyone is equal," Wall says.
Another goal is to find programs which are not working and fix them, with the Provincial Disaster Assistance program being an example of a program which was not working as designed. Wall notes that feedback from Yorkton, Maple Creek, and other disaster stricken areas has allowed the government to find and correct the inadequacies in the program. As more inadequacies are found, Wall says that program will change to reflect the real needs of people.
Wall also gave praise to Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit, saying that he has been persistent in getting Yorkton issues and issues relating to those less fortunate on the table.
At the end of the day, Wall says that the path the government is on is the one he intends to keep it on, and with the people of Saskatchewan he hopes to continue the growth the province is seeing.
