MLA Report From
OPINIONS
OPINIONS
OPINIONS
Nancy Heppner
Page 14 - JULY 7, 2016 - martensviLLe messenger
Phone: 306-668-1093 Email: [email protected]
take time away from work
Keeping Promises
to care for a loved one;
68-1093
Email: [email protected]
and Keeping
ne: 306-668-1093
Email: [email protected]
SaskTel Critical
to Rural
Saskatchewan
Over the next year or
so, the Saskatchewan
Party government will
be looking to save every
penny it can. Bet that there
will be things done that
rural people won’t like.
For starters, a government
can only go so far when it
comes to cuts that people
can all grudgingly agree on.
Nobody likes the idea of
adding another $5 to every
prescription for seniors or
kids. While those impacted
will grumble about it, it’s
justifiable because it’s
small and largely seen as
fair. But governments can
only get so far by doing
things that don’t have
some political implication.
Maybe the budget decision
to close the Buffalo
Narrows
Correction
Centre way up north in
the Cumberland riding
would have been an
easier political decision. It
involves inmates and it’s
in a place where the Sask.
Party is unlikely to win.
And the added bonus is
that it can be argued that
it makes economic sense
because it is more expense
to run a small correction
centre in a remote location.
But there are only so
many political hits any
government can afford to
take. And there’s only so
much money that is saved
with small potato (on
the scale of a $14 billion
annual provincial budget)
like no doubt, the Sask.
Party government thought
it could afford the political
hit of only funding half
the 1.9-per-cent
annual teachers’
salary increase by dumping
the remain half of the costs
of local school boards.
The government is betting
most won’t care, although
teachers clearly would
care. Moreover, making
teachers angry may not
be a huge political deal to
the Sask. Party, given that
teachers haven’t always
been as part of its votes
base. But teachers vote
and parents vote. And
crowded classrooms or
cutting other aspects of
school board budgets tend
to hit very close to home.
And, more to the point, the
government is running out
of these smaller hits.
With the Sask. Party
government
borrowing
$1.7 billion in the past
two years and adding $2.6
billion the public debt,
everyone is going to feel
the pinch. And with this
much added debt, it appears
that the Sask. Party is going
to do something big. This
reality has added to the
trepidation that Premier
Brad Wall must be serious
about selling off SaskTel
and using the money to pay
debt.
Last month, government
released the results of
a risk assessment. It
commissioned Mark H.
Goldberg Associates Inc.
to determine the longterm value of the Crownowned telephone utility.
The report indicated that
SaskTel is going to be
squeezed by Bell, Rogers
and Telus - especially in
Provincial
Politics
with
Murray Mandryk
the wake of Bell’s takeover
of Manitoba Telephone
System (MTS). “There is
a risk that SaskTel’s net
income will be unable
to support the level of
dividends that have been
returned to the province
in recent years,” Goldberg
wrote. But in the wake of
the Goldberg report, Wall
was quick to downplay
the potential of a SaskTel
privatization.
Wall noted the loss of headoffice jobs in Regina, but it
should be noted that rural
SaskTel jobs would also
be at risk. However, Wall’s
key argument was that
cell towers, Internet and
other less-than-maximumprofit services to rural
and remote Saskatchewan
customers would suffer
because these are things
private telcos wouldn’t be
eager to provide. It was an
important comment.
Sure, all people - including
rural people - are going to
have to bite the bullet in the
coming year. Perhaps that
might very well include
less-valued
services
like the Saskatchewan
Transportation Company
or perhaps even rural
municipalities, if Wall’s
“transformational change”
means anything.
Tough decisions will
have to be made. But to
rob rural Saskatchewan
of key communication
infrastructure makes no
sense for anyone. Wisely,
Wall already seems to be
defining what’s critical and
what’s not.
Saskatchewan
Strong
It is a tremendous honour
and a huge responsibility
to be chosen to represent
your
constituents
in
the
Saskatchewan
Legislative
Assembly.
My colleagues and I are
all working hard to live
up to that responsibility.
The first sitting of
the
new
Legislative
Assembly focused on the
government keeping its
election promises and on
keeping
Saskatchewan
strong. The spring session
wrapped up last week.
Our government made just
a few promises during the
recent election campaign
and have already kept
most of them, including
increased investment in
fixing highways, a new
First Home Plan that
allows young people
to use up to $10,000 of
their Graduate Retention
Program credits toward
the
down
payment
on a new home, and
moving forward with the
privatization of 40 liquor
stores.
During
the
spring
sitting, the government
introduced
37
bills
including legislation to:
• Remove Saskatchewan
Liquor
and
Gaming
Authority (SLGA) from
The Crown Corporations
Public Ownership Act to
allow the government to
convert 40 governmentowned liquor stores to
private stores and create
an additional 12 new
private liquor stores;
• Give Saskatchewan
residents the option to
privately pay for a CT
scan while requiring
that another CT scan be
provided to a patient on
the public list for every
one paid for privately;
• Strengthen The Adoption
Act;
• Extend compassionate
care leave from eight
weeks to 28 weeks for
employees who wish to
• Improve auto injury
coverage;
• Provide better protection
of
personal
health
information and increased
accountability for those
responsible for protecting
those records; and
• Strengthen the protection
of personal information by
government agencies.
Most of the bills will
be passed during the
upcoming fall session.
Our main commitment
during
the
election
campaign was to keep
Saskatchewan
strong
through the economic
challenges caused by
low resource prices. We
did that by presenting a
budget that kept taxes low,
made record investments
in
infrastructure
and
controlled
government
spending.
Saskatchewan’s population
continues to grow and our
diversified economy still
has the second-lowest
unemployment rate in the
country. The economic
challenges are still there
and there is a lot more
work to be done, but
Saskatchewan is strong
and we are well-positioned
to meet those challenges.
ABOVE: MLA Nancy Hepner
NDP
leader
Thomas
Mulcair’s
office
that
actively
campaigned
against the Trans Pacific
Partnership
and
the
Keystone XL pipeline
•
Appointing
a
Finance critic who voted to
support the Leap Manifesto
as a “high-level statement
of
principles”
which
advocates a shutdown of
energy production, modern
agriculture and wants to rip
up all trade deals
•
Appointing
a
signatory of the Leap
Manifesto to co-chair the
NDP “renewal” process
•
Voting
against
a new patent box tax
incentive for innovators
in the province to help
diversify the economy
•
Refusing to even
debate a motion in the
Legislature supporting an
oil well cleanup program
that would get hundreds
in Saskatchewan's energy
sector back to work.
Saskatchewan continues
to attract investment;
recent
announcements
from
Husky
Energy,
Crescent Point Energy,
RII North America, K+S
Potash, BHP Billiton and
Raging River Exploration
to name a few for
over $8 billion in new
investment.
Investment
made because of sound
fiscal management and a
strong economic outlook
for Saskatchewan.
•
Calling a policy
to allow home-based food
producers to sell directly
to businesses and clients
“half-baked” and mocking
the contributions of these
entrepreneurs
to
our
economy
Meanwhile the NDP
have been busy sending
some alarming signals
to job creators and to
Saskatchewan’s
entire
economy. Here’s a few
of their actions since the
election:
It’s
no
wonder
Saskatchewan
people
have
placed
their
confidence in a vision
and bright future for our
province that keeps taxes
low, controls spending,
invests in infrastructure,
and ensures help for our
most vulnerable to keep
Saskatchewan strong.
•
Hiring a new
Chief of Staff from Ottawa
These signals and policy
positions from the NDP
would give any potential
investor and job creator in
the province more than a
little pause.
Letter to the Editor
Selfie-king Justin Trudeau photobombs Barack Obama during 3 Amigos summit.
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