Vol. 103 No. 50
Box 40, 102 3rd Ave West, Biggar, Saskatchewan S0K 0M0
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012
email: tip@sasktel.net
Phone: 306-948-3344
24 pages g
$ $1.25
www.biggarindependent.ca
Premier says session focused on opportunities and challenges of growth Premier Brad Wall said the fall legislative session which ended December
Tickling ivory . . . Madison Genaille plays the first, perhaps nervous, notes during the annual Heart of the City recital, Monday at the Majestic Theatre’s Bielby Hall. The students must now call themselves musicians,
6 focused on meeting the opportunities and challenges of a growing
Saskatchewan. “Saskatchewan is growing at its fastest pace in more
as they’ve progressed - and keep progressing, during their musical journey. Check out the biggarindependent.ca for more content this Friday! (Independent Photo by Kevin
t h a n 9 0 y e a r s,” Wa l l said. “Our government is committed to ensuring that growth continues and to meet the challenges of a growing province.” Wall pointed to the recent decision to increase funding to eight of the province’s fastest-growing school divisions. “We are seeing school enrolments in some divisions increasing at an unprecedented level,” Wall said. “That creates challenges in terms of c l a s s r o o m s i z e s, b u t growth also gives us the opportunity to deal with those challenges. Our growing tax base allows us to provide growing school divisions with the additional resources they need while still maintaining a balanced budget.” Wall said the balanced budget confirmed by Finance Minister Ken Krawetz in the Mid-Year Report was another highlight of the fall session.
Brautigam)
Sask Party delivers surprises, debt, say NDP The NDP are claiming a number of improvements for everyday families to the table during the fall session of the legislature. The Sask Party, they accuse, revealed an agenda no one asked for, filled with surprises. “The NDP team listened to everyday families and took the lead on concrete improvements,” said NDP leader John Nilson on the final day of the session, December 6. “We succeeded in making Jimmy’s Law a reality, giving more security to late-night workers. We saw movement in our push for the creation of an online registry of public buildings that contain asbestos, improving safety in care homes, schools and workplaces. And we put a spotlight on the fact that refugees were being treated inhumanely, forcing the Sask Party to do the right thing.” The NDP also say they p u t t h e S a s k Pa r t y ’s management of tax dollars front-and-centre, calling for more common sense
in spending and honesty from the Sask Party when it comes to reporting the financial facts. “People are now looking past the Sask Party’s PR and billboards,” Nilson i n s i s t e d . “ We h e l p e d reveal the true cost and economic benefit of the film tax credit the Sask Party cancelled - a program that was a good deal for Saskatchewan. We also made it clear that the Sask Party’s smoke-and-mirrors accounting is unacceptable, with the independent auditor confirming those criticisms.” Nilson added that the g o v e r n m e n t ’s a g e n d a appeared to be a surprising return to the Sask Party’s 2003 ideology of privatization and selloffs. “The Sask Party is selling a highly profitable Crown corporation, ISC. It is selling government-owned land meant for affordable housing and selling-off 300 affordable homes. It is reviving its failed P3 secretariat - this time
called SaskBuilds - as an expensive privatization scheme to push infrastructure costs down the road. These fire sales should not be necessary in such good times.” NDP MLAs will spend the coming weeks in their constituencies and meeting
with people throughout the province. “ Pe o p l e a c r o s s t h e province have given us support,” said Nilson. “The ideas, concerns and priorities people have shared with us have helped us focus on the issues that matter to Saskatchewan
- and helped us call on the Sask Party to do the same. We want to keep that communication going. We want to hear from as many people as possible because it is coming more and more clear that this government is not meeting the needs of our province.”
When you have the opportunity, make the most of it . . . Christopher Montgomery bends the ear of Santa Claus, Saturday as the Biggar Legion invited the Christmas icon to their hall to meet and greet kids. Christopher surprised Santa, asking nothing for himself, just help for the homeless and, we suspect, for everyone to have a blessed Christmas. God Bless You, Christopher! (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
“Saskatchewan continues to have the only balanced provincial budget in Canada,” Wall said. “That is a huge advantage for our province, and again, it demonstrates the benefits of growth. Despite a decline in resource revenues, growth in other parts of the economy has allowed us to maintain a balanced budget.” Other highlights of the fall session include: • A new Saskatchewan Employment Act that protects workers, promotes growth and clearly defines the rights and responsibilities of employers, employees and unions in the workplace; • M a j o r ch a n g e s t o modernize Saskatchewan’s liquor laws and allow for new private liquor stores; • Education Savings (SAGES), which helps families save for their children’s post-secondary education by providing a grant of up to $250 per child per year toward their Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP); • New legislation to improve safety in highway construction zones; and • Legislation to facilitate growth in Information Services Corporation (ISC) through a public share offering. Wa l l s a i d t h e f a l l legislative session followed the direction laid out in the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth which was released just prior to the start of the session. “The reason we seek growth is so we can continue to improve the quality of life for everyone in Saskatchewan,” Wall said. “The Saskatchewan Plan for Growth spells out the principles of a strong and growing province, like balanced budgets, investing in infrastructure and skills training, increased trade and economic competitiveness. “These are the principles our government followed during the fall session and these are the principles we will continue to follow to improve the quality of life for everyone in Saskatchewan.”