The spring session of the Saskatchewan Legislature wrapped up last week, and Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit says the Saskatchewan Party government did a good job of passing relevant legislation.
Opposition leader Dwain Lingenfelter did not see the session in the same way.
Ottenbreit said the legislative session tended to reflect the province's economic condition, which is strong. Even the potash sector, "is slowly turning around."
"The high prices we saw aren't going to be coming back anytime soon," he said, but the industry is showing confidence through exploration and mine expansion for the future. He said the investment shows they "believe in the industry."
That investment has meant jobs and sales of supplies and service in the province which has helped the economy, if not government coffers through potash resource revenues, offered Ottenbreit.
"The general economy of the province is doing quite well," he said.
Ottenbreit said the province's population is at an all-time high, housing starts are up 200 per cent over last year, and full-time employment numbers are up some 9,000, all indicators of economic strength.
In fact, Ottenbreit noted, "the provincial income is probably going to be more positive than we forecast."
As a government, Ottenbreit said a key remains the balanced budget brought down earlier this year.
While balanced by accepted accounting processes, Ottenbreit said the budget is one of restraining spending.
"We have to keep spending reined in to make sure it's sustainable long term," he said.
Even with spending restraint as a goal, Ottenbreit said the key areas of health care, education and social services did see slight spending increases.
Regardless of what accounting method is used, Ottenbreit said Saskatchewan is "$2 billion better off today than two-years ago."
Lingenfelter however, said the shortcomings of the Saskatchewan Party and the recent session can be seen in terms of how health care was handled.
"The weakness of the Minister of Health is obvious in answering many questions," said Lingenfelter.
Lingenfelter said prior to the last election the Saskatchewan Party promised to address the doctor shortage in the province, and the numbers on waiting lists.
"The public feels betrayed because they had been promised," he said, adding neither promise has been met.
"On health care the trust has been broken."
As a result municipalities have started spending local tax dollars to attract doctors to their communities, and Lingenfelter said that is simply not right. He said doctor recruitment has to reside with the province.
Doctor retention and recruitment needs to come from the provincial level, because local government can't afford it, said the New Democrat leader. He pointed to the community of Wakaw where tax dollars helped recruit two doctors seven months ago, and those doctors are now leaving.
Similarly Nipawin spent $800,000 on doctor retention and recruitment, said Lingenfelter."Those dollars are not being spent on water systems, or the street lights," he said.
Lingenfelter said the government may point to addressing the nursing shortage, but the wait list can't shorten without doctors to do procedures.
"Nurses are only one piece of the puzzle. You could double nurses and it won't make any difference on wait lists if you don't have the doctors," he said.
Making the wait list issue worse is a trend toward cutting acute care needs, said Lingenfelter, noting "if you don't have the hospital beds," then it's hard to treat many on wait lists.
The only way to keep beds open, and to recruit doctors is through spending, and Lingenfelter said the situation shows the government made a mistake in not pursuing the federal government to take resource revenues out of the revenue sharing equation. He said former Premier Lorne Calvert fought for that, and lawyers at the time said the province had a case.Premier Wall abandoned those efforts, efforts which had they been successful would have meant an additional $800,000 million a year to Saskatchewan, or $3.2 billion over the term of the Wall government.
The decision by Wall not to pursue the money "has cost the province a great deal," said Lingenfelter. " With an amount like that you do a lot for health care."
Lingenfelter said he doesn't see the Opposition being particularly confrontational in the last session. He said 55 Bills went before the Legislature.
"Forty of those the Opposition voted for," he noted.
On the other hand Lingenfelter said the public seemed clearly upset at the government, with many protests taking place.
"It was the most protests I've ever seen at the Legislature," he said, pointing to gatherings protesting the sale of wildlife land, the removal of chiropractic services from health care coverage, the planned closure of SCN, the situation at the First Nations University, and several other issues. " I've never seen so many people here all the time."
Lingenfelter said the protests are not a caused by the Opposition. "They're the result of bad government," he said.
It's not that people are "angry at us (the Opposition). They're angry at him (Premier Wall)."Ottenbreit said protests are almost expected in a time of fiscal restraint like the province had to undertake this year after potash revenues disappeared in 2009, forcing the government to adjust its spending.
"That's (protests) going to happen when you have to start tightening up a budget," he said, adding people end up with specific concerns.
However, Ottenbreit said often the concerns are unfounded. He suggested the public have been swayed by the Opposition.
"The Opposition is getting its message out whether it's completely truthful, or not," he said.Ottenbreit said the government isn't getting the real story out well enough.
"We're not doing such a good job of getting all the facts out," he said, leaving the government being reactive to issues rather than proactive.
As an example he pointed to the decision to shut down SCN. He said the network was first launched as a way to facilitate distance education.
"There are now more efficient ways of doing that," he said.
Ottenbreit said closing SCN is also not a sign the government is abandoning all support for the film industry.
"There's still a lot of support for the film industry," he said, including tax credits on shooting done in the province.
Similarly the sale of 3.5 million acres of wildlife land is not as significant as many fear, said Ottenbreit.
"Three-point-five million acres seems huge but look at a map it's a pin point here, and pin point there," he said.
In most cases farmers were renting the land, and using it. They will simply own it now with the government maintaining easements to keep the land useable by wildlife.
"The Leg' is quiet when nobody is here, and nobody is here when everything is going smoothly."
The questions the public have end up being part of the Legislature's natural process too, said Lingenfelter,
"Question period is almost always a reflection of the mood of the people," he said.
Ottenbreit said the Opposition is being as disruptive as possible in the Legislature, adding the Saskatchewan Party is trying to stay out of the personal attacks.
"The NDP is yelling at us. Ninety-five per cent of the time we're not engaging," he said.The Opposition has also been "obstructionist," said Ottenbreit, forcing up to the allotted 20-hours debate on the smallest of issues and amendments. The situation forced the government to motion for extended hours of operation, which finally had the NDP pulling back on its legislative slowdown.
Ottenbreit said it all stems from what he sees as a lack of respect from the Opposition for the Legislature and the positions of Premier and even for the neutral Speaker.
"It's a very precarious place to be when you show no respect for the Westminster (Parliamentary) system," he said.
