Premier defends government in throne speech

NDP MLA Buckley Belanger is extremely critical of the throne speech, specifically what it entails for Prince Albert and Northern Saskatchewan.

There is no financial commitment to a second bridge.

“Both MLAs from that community made the commitment and I remember the words, it’s not a question of if we’re building, it’s inevitable,” said Belanger.

When asked what approach the NDP would take, the Athabasca MLA said the NDP would make a commitment to a second bridge.

In the throne speech, Premier Brad Wall reiterated the government’s position that they would support the second bridge through a p3 partnership.

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“That’s really a cop out,” said Belanger. “There’s a lot of questions on the p3 affordability like how much more is the city of Prince Albert expected to pay on the bridge.”

Belanger said if there is a seriousness about dealing with the bridge, then the people of Prince Albert need to know what the full costs of the project are going to be, before anything gets decided.

In addition to discussion around the bridge, Belanger said he would like to have seen more commitment to highways in the north.

“We need to diversify our economy and not put all our economic eggs in one basket. We need to look at the different strengths of each region and invest wisely so that each region can become strong and independent,” he said.

Another missing element from the Throne Speech, according to Belanger, was a commitment to engage Saskatchewan’s First Nations and Metis people.

“There’s been study after study showing that if you engage a First Nation, and aboriginal community to the extent they should be engaged through strategic investment, not only in the economy but also skills and training, that it will benefit Saskatchewan overall a tremendous amount,” he said. 

One way Belanger said we can do this is by pushing infrastructure, business development, and skills training.

nmaxwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell