By Thia James

Wall emphasizes action over talk at Premier’s Dinner

Mar 28, 2014 | 6:27 AM

Premier Brad Wall made a case for his government being a government of action at Thursday evening’s Premier’s Dinner in Prince Albert.

With the next provincial election less than two years away, the premier touted his government’s seventh-consecutive balanced budget, which he noted was balanced on a summary basis. The province recently moved to using summary financial statements.

“So, all across government, the Crowns, think about pension funds and all that, it’s a balanced budget,” he told the audience in the Ches Leach Lounge at the Art Hauser Centre. Wall also pointed to a surplus in the province’s operational plan, which he likened to the government’s chequing account.

His speech focused on the actions his government has been taking since it came to power in 2007. And it wrapped up with Wall leaving the podium as a remixed version of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” played in the background.

Wall attributed the growth the province has been seeing, both in terms of population and the economy to Saskatchewan people recognizing the need to act on what’s possible for the province, rather than talking about it.

Freedom and Flexibility

How App-Based Work Creates Economic Opportunity

Dec 12, 2025

Riderville

Now for the Hard Part

Dec 10, 2025

Seniors Scene

Christmas is Coming

Dec 09, 2025

As well, he said his government reduced the unsupported debt by $3 billion by putting windfall revenue towards its reduction. Now, according to a report in Maclean’s magazine, the province has the second-lowest debt per capita, second only to Alberta.

“We stopped talking about reducing the debt and started paying off the debt,” he said.

And when it comes to Prince Albert, he said the $2 million earmarked for Victoria Hospital’s “renewal” is going to happen.

“And you need to know this Prince Albert and area, when we make an announcement like this, it’s not just about an announcement. We act on it,” Wall said. “The Children’s Hospital [in Saskatoon] will soon start construction, the Moose Jaw Hospital we announced in a similar way a few budgets ago is near completion. The Saskatchewan Hospital [in North Battleford] will begin construction, and the next major project will take us here.”

Wall also praised his government’s moves to tackle the infrastructure deficit and highlighted a number of projects that have been completed or are currently under way in the region, including the new St. Louis Bridge.

After the speech, he said the province would continue to make infrastructure investments in Prince Albert, again pointing to the $2 million allotment for Victoria Hospital.

“There’s a number of small projects, you know. There’s increased support for child care in the province and Prince Albert’s going to get a number of those.”

The government, he said, has been contributing funding to Habitat for Humanity builds in Prince Albert, including an upcoming build.

During his speech, the premier then made note of the revenue sharing increases his government brought in after it was first elected. Prince Albert, he said, now receives $7.2 million every year from the municipal operating grant.

This past year, however, the municipal operating grant amount transferred to Prince Albert fell year-over-year. The decreased funding was one of the factors cited in the city’s budget documents that led to the proposed 4.5 per cent municipal tax increase.

But according to Wall, when his government took office, the city only received $3 million in municipal operating grant funding. After his speech, he said is “way more” than a 100 per cent increase.

“What we’ve done is tied the share that municipalities get at one point to the PST. And what happened is an accounting change, where basicially, the accountant said ‘here’s how you should be calculating that number,’ and so as a result, there’s a one-year decrease in the increase. It’s increasing at a lower rate.”

Going forward, he said the revenue sharing with Prince Albert will return to increases once the accounting anomaly has worked its way through the system.

The premier did not address Prince Albert’s call for a second bridge in his speech. But when asked if he would support the city’s bid for a new bridge if it went the public-private partnership (P3) route, he said he’d be willing to sit at the table with the city’s mayor and council.

“We said to Saskatoon… for this commuter bridge, if they’re successful at the P3 level, we’re going to certainly be supportive of that,” he said.

Wall said P3 Canada does not require the provincial government to be involved to approve a local project.

“Would we sit down with the mayor and council to talk about what role could possibly be played by the provincial government if they were prepared to head down that road? We’d absolutely have that conversation I think, yeah. I’m not making a commitment here, because again, that P3 Canada program can operate without the provincial level. However, I’d think we would want to absolutely sit down with mayor and council and find out what was possible, especially if we could get the federal government to the table.”

The event was well attended, and students from PACI and Carlton's entrepreneurship programs acted as the evenings hosts and hostesses.

Prince Albert’s mayor, Greg Dionne, was among the many local dignitaries in attendance at the Premier’s Dinner.

As indicated by Wall’s comments, the premier is fired up about the province, Dionne said.

“You can tell we’re two years away from an election. And so, things are happening in the province of Saskatchewan. You can’t take that away from the premier.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames