We did what we said we would.

As the MLA for Moose Jaw North, it was my honour to represent the citizens of Moose Jaw in our government’s first legislative session. The session was about keeping promises that are more reflective of the values of Saskatchewan people. We focused on growth and opportunity, security and compassion, and keeping our word.

For Moose Jaw the biggest news was the announcement funding was finally in place for long overdue repairs and renovations at the Moose Jaw Union Hospital. Our government accomplished in six months what two NDP cabinet ministers could not do in 16 years.

In total, we kept more than 60 of those promises by doing exactly what we said we would.

We didn’t waste any time. On November 8, we kept our promise to introduce fixed election legislation.

We promised to cut the highest education property taxes in Canada. Our government did it by increasing rebates for both homeowners and farmers. We are now conducting a review of the whole system.

Families will now pay less for prescription drugs for their children, because we kept our promise to cap prescriptions for kids at $15. We are making it more affordable for families to get their children involved in cultural, recreational and sports activities, through the Active Saskatchewan Families benefit.

Municipalities have more money so they can keep taxes down. We increased municipal revenue sharing by 15 per cent, after 16 years of claw-backs that forced towns and cities to increase taxes and cut services.

For a complete list of promises, go to: http://www.gov.sk.ca/premier/promises-kept/.

PRIVACY

Your SaskParty government takes privacy very seriously. It would seem the NDP do not.
If you ever wrote a letter to a former NDP cabinet minister, it likely is not where it is supposed to be: the Provincial Archives. It could be at their office in their personal files. It may at their home. But there’s one thing you can be sure of. If they can use it for political gain, they will.

Over the past week, former NDP Justice Minister Frank Quennell used two letters from a private citizen for political gain, making false allegations against SaskParty Justice Minister Don Morgan. Not only is this inappropriate, it’s also breaking the law.

The Archives Act requires all former Cabinet Ministers to turn over correspondence and other information they received while acting as Minister of the Crown. After being defeated, this property is not the property of the former Ministers – it is the property of the Crown and is supposed to be sent to the Archives. Furthermore, the Act says no person should use this information for personal gain. The NDP have done just that.

Private citizens all across the province who have written to NDP Ministers in the past, or have asked MLAs to write on their behalf about personal issues, should be concerned. There is a long list of former NDP Ministers who have sent NOTHING to the archives – including former Ministers of Justice, Health, Social Services, Environment, and Labour.

SaskParty MLAs have demanded NDP members immediately submit any Ministerial Correspondence to the provincial archives. At the time of this writing, they have not.

SOUTH HILL LIQUOR STORE
There is a lot of misinformation out there about the closure of the South Hill liquor store. I wanted to start this week’s column by taking the time to set the record straight.

Closing the store was purely a business decision. The closure saves taxpayers about $150,000 per year in operating costs, in addition to whatever gets made on the eventual sale of the building. There will be little, if any, disruption for customers, because the Station Centre store is just a few minutes away. No one lost their job. The three people who worked at South Hill have been given the option of going to work at the other store.

The South Hill store just doesn’t do that well when you compare it to other Saskatchewan communities that have more than one liquor store. A comparable location in Saskatoon has annual sales volumes that are 75 per cent higher.

The South Hill store was also next door to a daycare. Concerns had been raised in past about how appropriate that was. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be all that comfortable dropping my kids off every morning beside a liquor store. There is also the potential the daycare could use the space.

Finally, to suggest the decision to close the South Hill store was political is ridiculous. Both it and the Station Centre location are located in a constituency held by the NDP. There are no plans to close the other store. Equally as ridiculous is the suggestion that this is about privatization. Your Saskatchewan Party government considers keeping the Crowns public and working for Saskatchewan people an important part of our Ready For Growth agenda.

PROMISES KEPT