Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Fiscal discipline, trade and innovation were the three main themes of Premier Brad Wall’s speech to the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. The address was a primer for the upcoming budget announcements in the legislature, mapping the course for the province in the years to come.

“In Saskatchewan we will be talking about smaller, smarter government, balanced budgets and a nation-leading economy. This budget is about the long-term. It’s about spending smarter instead of spending more,” Premier Wall said.

Fiscal discipline includes the elimination of 82 government agencies, boards and commissions no longer seen as useful after a government-wide review. Premier Wall also pointed to massive payments to the provincial debt. He highlighted the debt was reduced from $6.8 billion to $4.2 billion. This will lead to a savings of $500 million in interest over the next five years.

He also noted the success of the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) led by Lionel LaBelle. The province has sent trade missions and worked hard to promote Saskatchewan products in different markets.

“Saskatchewan now does more trade with India than any other province in Canada, in fact, our province accounts for 46 per cent of Canada’s sales to India. We do more business with Bangladesh than any country in continental Europe,” said Premier Wall.

Innovation plans included more research in carbon capture sequestration, clean-coal technology, uranium research and agriculture biotechnology.

“We have the ability to keep taxes low, reduce the debt and invest in quality of life that in turn attracts more people. That’s the point of our growth agenda, to keep this virtuous circle going,” Premier Wall said.

Click here for more information about STEP, the full-text from his speech and the video.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Premier Brad Wall emphasized cooperation, fiscal responsibility and common sense in his speech to the members of SARM.

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities hosted their annual convention at the Queensbury Downs in Regina. Premier Wall delivered a speech emphasizing action over promises, highlighting the actions the province has taken to better serve rural Saskatchewan.

“Witness our $71 million in support for cattle and hog producers, our Saskatchewan Agricultural Land Sales Program, which puts crown land back into the hands of producers … the most effective stewards of that land,” Premier Wall said.

He also talked about improvements to rural health care, crop insurance, cost-sharing for water infrastructure. Premier Wall pointed to expanded enrollment spaces at the University of Saskatoon’s College of Medicine, higher retention rates among nurses and an increase in the number of doctors working in the province since March, 2007.

Other themes included revenue sharing, reducing spending and care for seniors.

“We remain committed to improving roads, hospitals, schools and infrastructure critical to continued growth in rural Saskatchewan,” He said.

Click here for more information about SARM, the speech or video highlights.

Monday, March 1, 2010

"Saskatchewan athletes earned an impressive 11 medals in total," Wall said. "Nine of those medals are gold, one silver and one bronze."

Medal recipients include:

"I want to say a heartfelt congratulations to all our Saskatchewan athletes," Wall said. "They represented our province and our country incredibly well. We are proud to call you our own."

The Saskatchewan Pavilion closed yesterday after 17 days at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. More than 120,000 people passed through the pavilion over the course of the Games.

"We had people from Australia, China, Germany, Poland, Saudi Arabia - literally from all over the world - visit our pavilion," Wall said. "We told an international audience that Saskatchewan is a great place to make a living and to make a life."

For more information on Saskatchewan people at the games, visit: http://www.csc-sask.ca/2010/index.html. For video highlights from the Saskatchewan reception click here.