Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall was honoured Oct. 27 at the Fraser Institute's Award Tribute dinner held in Calgary, receiving the 2016 Founders' Award presented annually to philanthropic, free market leaders. The Fraser fundraiser attracted a record-breaking 900.
Seems odd Calgary would host a sellout event honouring a Saskatchewan premier. Perhaps Wall offers a glimpse of what might have been. Our protest-voted NDP is delivering as promised: Dogma over reason. Dire economic times will not deter taxes, minimum wage increases, deficits and debt.
My family left Saskatchewan in the early 1980s, joining other prosperity-seekers who landed in Alberta. Times were challenging, but there was hope; we knew the tough economic climate was being buffered by a reasonable government. We'd left an oppressive NDP government in Saskatchewan and experienced the devastating impact of Trudeau's N.E.P. in Alberta. Sound familiar?
Wall's our only champion for the west and its resources--our only opponent of the soon-to-be introduced carbon tax. Not bad for the leader of the Saskatchewan Party founded in 1998 by four Liberals and four PCs in an attempt to end 60 years of vote splitting, and a long-serving NDP government.
Wall was elected premier in 2007, re-elected in 2011 with 64 per cent of the popular vote and again in 2016 with 62 per cent of the popular vote—the highest percentages of any political party in Saskatchewan history.
He's running a province with deep socialist roots and free market thinking. Wall's cut hospital wait-lists; introduced a new direct income support for people with disabilities. He's eliminated long wait-lists for those with intellectual disabilities. Wall introduced the largest personal income and property tax cuts in Saskatchewan's history, and received Moody's AAA rating for the first time. The population drain reversed, adding 132,000 in eight years—more growth than in the last 75 combined.
Wall's not a climate change denier, a right-wing kook or opposed to technological innovation. He suggests Canada's Paris-inspired goal of 30 per cent reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030 is misguided. Canada contributes 1.6 per cent of global emissions annually. Cuts won't offset the 2,400 unregulated coal-fired plants being planned or under construction around the world. A high carbon tax will not only hinder business, but drastically reduce necessary taxes to fuel Canada's social programs.
Wall calls for double funding for climate change research, reintroducing the $2.6-billion five-year commitment for developing countries to deal with climate change. He thinks tax funded technology may eventually find a replacement for hydrocarbons or at least make carbon-reducing technology available to Third World countries.
Brad Wall and his government have demonstrated their influence goes well beyond the Saskatchewan border. Reason, social responsibility and good governance attract attention. Let's hope during the next Alberta election we can elect a government that can do the same.
- Elliott is the Mountain View Gazette publisher
"Brad Wall and his government have demonstrated their influence goes well beyond the Saskatchewan border. Reason, social responsibility and good governance attract attention."
