Brad Wall wants to keep Liberals, Greens and PC's out of next Leader's Debate

Surprise, surprise. Brad Wall doesn't want the Green, Liberal or (gasp) PC leaders in the upcoming Saskatchewan leader's debate. I think the fact that Rick Swenson will finally have a public forum to ask Wall the hard questions about the stolen PC Trust Fund, will make watching the debate fun all by itself.

I can already see the beads of sweat breaking out on Mr. Wall's face when Rick Swenson confronts him. Maybe Wall will be smart and resolve the issue before it gets to that.

"politicians all a twitter"

No lunch for you

The public is now aware that the Saskatchewan Party has a secret club. Until recently, for a thousand dollar donation to the party, you got a number of perks. Reporters and pundits have been unable to get Premier Wall to disclose what these perks are. We'd like to speculate. For the mere sum of $1000, we think that you got lunch with Premier Wall, a golf game with Wall and some cabinet ministers, a secret decoder ring, a coffee mug, an autographed picture of Brad Wall, a tee shirt and a nice chunk of potash.

Since we don't know what you actually 'do' get for the thousand dollar club membership, we simply hope that someone will fill us in.

Enterprise club lunch cancelled

'NDP Boogeyman' Outed!

We now know that the libelous Saskatchewan Party blog known as 'ndpboogeyman' is authored by a prominent online troll who goes by the name of 'Mike the Greek' 'Mike C' or just 'the Greek'. He is a regular caller to the John Gormley radio talk show.

Mike is a prominent Saskatoon businessman in the insurance business who has a long history with Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party. Along with notorious Sask Party troll, Trent Lalonde, Mike has been slandering New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives for years. That may be about to change!

He is John Gormley's facebook friend (and Twitter pal) as well as Ezra Levant's and half the Saskatchewan Party caucus.

On any given day, ndpboogeyman publishes a post and within a few minutes Gormley mentions it on his radio show. It appears that Mr. Gormley may be very much involved in this online smear strategy on behalf of Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party.

It's a good thing that 'Mike the Greek' has some lawyer friends because he just may need them. Mind you neither Gormley nor Ezra are renowned for their lawyering, rather both are in the business of political commentary.

UPDATE:
Word on the interwebs has it that Mr. Gormley is some ticked that he has been defamed regarding his skill as a lawyer. Phhhtt! He should perhaps get a thicker skin and read the fine print from way way back on the very first post on this blog

Memo To Minister Of Justice, Hon. Don Morgan QC

TO: Minister Don Morgan QC
Minister of Justice and Attorney General

FROM: Taxpayers of Saskatchewan

RE: Regional College Scandal

Dear Minister Morgan, please accept our wishes for the quick return of your voice. We must assume that you have a sore throat and are unable to rise to your feet in the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly and answer questions directed to you in Question Period. While your colleague, Mr. Boyd, wants to assist and answer for you, we would like to hear from you.

Please get well soon!

Memo To Minister Rob Norris

TO: Minister Rob Norris
Minister of Advanced Education,
Employment and Labour

FROM: Taxpayers of Saskatchewan

RE: Regional College Scandal

OPEN THE BOOKS!

Because It's Really All About Brad Wall !!

Saskatchewan Party Introduces Corporate Budget Because PotashCorp Needs More Tax Breaks

Yawn.

(1) Sask Party Has Secret 'Club' - For $1000 Gives Access To Premier And Cabinet (2) Wall's Pal Caught With Hands In The Till

(1) Who are you going to believe - Brad Wall or a well respected Saskatchewan Priest?

"Last week, the Saskatchewan Party cancelled (Glen) Kobussen's "Enterprise Club" membership after it was learned St. Peter’s College, which is located in Muenster, had paid it for it. The co-chair of St. Peter's board of governors, Father Demetrius Wasylyniuk, said the college paid because it wanted the CEO to increase his "exposure" to the political process. At the time, St. Peter's was trying to merge with the Saskatchewan government's Carlton Trail."www.cbc.ca

(2) Glen Kobussen was hired by the Brad Wall government to act as CEO for two small rural colleges even though he was found guilty of five counts of fraud in 1995 for siphoning money from the Saskatchewan professional firefighters burn fund charity. He later received a pardon. That was good enough for Brad Wall and off to work he went.

Problem was, because the two colleges are slated for a merger, the Wall administration contracted with an accounting firm to look at the books and governance issues prior to the merger.

Guess what the accountants found? Glen Kobussen is alleged to have undertaken sufficient financial improprieties that he has now been fired. The accountants found that "The memo raised concerns that Kobussen had been charging St. Peter's College twice for reimbursement of travel expenses by claiming mileage as well as gas and repair costs on his college credit card.

Burgess also raised concerns that a 52-inch Sony television purchased by the college and picked up by Kobussen had never been accounted for.

The report also shows Kobussen made a $1,000 donation to the Saskatchewan Party to join its "Enterprise Club." That amount was reimbursed to him by St. Peter's, which Burgess described in his report as "not a normal expense in the everyday ordinary operation of the college." An official with the Sask. Party government later said the money was being returned by the party to St. Peter's." Saskatoon SP

Old Man Sweating, Trying To Look Youthful

(Who the hell in the Saskatchewan Party brain-trust thought this would be a good idea?) ((pants look a little wet))

Is That A Bong?

Being unfamiliar with what goes on in the offices of the Saskatchewan Party Caucus, I simply have to ask if that thing with smoke coming out of it is a 'bong'?

When Brad Wall Doesn't Get His Own Way

Mr. Grumpy is having a BAD day.

Historic Speeches From Potential Future Leaders Of The Saskatchewan Party Caucus

Sask Party Watch is going to start a new feature that highlights historic speeches and articulate elocution by Members of the Saskatchewan Party Caucus who may one day succeed Brad Wall as leader: Enjoy!

The following is a speech by Arm River MLA, Greg Brkich on March 26, 2004 - Address In Reply To The Speech From The Throne:

"Talk a bit about the Crowns and why a lot of people are, some people are dissatisfied with them. I will talk about . . . I have two communities, Craik and Imperial, that have their own cable companies. They entered an agreement with SaskTel, I think it was . . . I have the paperwork down in my office. I may be wrong on the date, but it was roughly around the 2000 to 2006, for a certain amount to pay for pole use. In 2002, SaskPower comes in, takes the contract away from SaskTel, rips it up. Doesn't inform the towns that had the contracts except to send them a bill saying that they're going to increase the rates over the next two years. The first year is a 67 per cent increase, the third year a 73 per cent increase, and the next year is an 80 per cent increase. Didn't even consult with the towns, basically just tore it up. With that extra money, it's not like they're providing more service, more infrastructure. All it is, is . . . The agreement that was made on it, Mr. Deputy Speaker, was poles. The towns are using SaskPower poles to run the line of their own cable company on this pole. A little tiny, little thin line — it's already there. Using that, SaskPower has decided to basically gouge these towns throughout the province.
You have to ask yourself why. I don't think it's a big demand on the power poles. I don't think that little line has tore down many power poles. And besides, you have a contract up to 2006.
The town says, hey we're willing to renegotiate at the end of the contract. We signed a valid, legal contract. We're willing to negotiate. If the price wants to go up afterwards, hey that's what we face. We designed our cable companies with the price in this contract. When we set out our services, we sent out a rate for the . . . yearly, to our customers to get them signed up. That's what we used.
So now we've got this added increase. So we have to go back, Mr. Deputy Speaker, go back to the people and say, we have to charge you more to use this cable, to use this cable. How is that helping small rural towns who are basically trying to get their own cable companies, own little things? That's just one instance of the Crowns always trying to compete with the local businesses instead of working with them. Over the number of years, the Crowns want to run things of every little business.
And at the utility end, they're very good at it. Do their job. Stay in the utility end. But why do they want to get into businesses?
Outlook was another one. The IRON Solutions magazine, they had to go buy one in Ontario to compete with the one in Outlook, employs 20 people. I mean, right now he's struggling.
That's 20 less people that could be out of a job because a Crown had to buy another dealership magazine, and keep it in Ontario, that services Western Canada. Now how is that helping rural Saskatchewan? How is that helping it grow?
They had made . . . Another agency, Rural Revitalization. That was supposed to work with that and help problems with that.
And there has not been one instance where they've actually helped the businesses out in rural Saskatchewan, worked with it. You want to really grow the businesses, get the Crowns trying not to drive the small businesses out of town, out of business out there in rural Saskatchewan.
Health care, on the Throne Speech . . . you know, no vision out there and that scares a lot of people. Over the years, I've read a lot of petitions on people that are scared about losing their services in Imperial and Craik and Davidson. Right now there's rumours that some of the little hospitals are in trouble. There's a rumour. . . I've even had calls from Moose Jaw about a rumour about a seniors' complex that may be closed. You know, people are very worried out there.
The beds . . . right now Davidson, a long-term care and Imperial . . . I'm not sure about Davidson. Now Imperial is five. There's five on the waiting list. You close some more beds out there; where are these people going to go? They're going to overload the system somewhere else, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
You're going to have to look at trying to expand the services and work with the people. I mean we can talk about the waiting lists going down the line. When I look at the response from the Health minister out there and the Finance minister, I get very worried that they're going to be cutting some more hospitals out there and some more long-term care beds out in rural Saskatchewan. And there's nothing left to cut. They're cut basically right to the bone. You cut any more out there and this system is getting ready to explode out there.
You want to . . . Mr. Deputy Speaker, when you look at a government, you should be looking at their legacy. And you look at the Chrétien government, it's going to be remembered for the scholarship scandal,(Editor's Note: I think he means 'Sponsorship Scandal ??) Mr. Deputy Speaker. You look at the Devine government. It did a lot of good things, but when you mention its name, debt always seems to be associated with that particular government.
But what is this legacy of this particular government going to be? If it continues down the same path that it is going, Mr. Deputy Speaker, its legacy was going to be having the most longest waiting lists. It's going to have the poorest health care, having people, Mr. Deputy Speaker, people die unnecessarily under its watch. That's what this government, if it continues down this path, that's what it will be remembered for.
And then we can talk about the debt that this Premier is starting to incur. The previous premier had left a little surplus there.
Now this Premier is running close to $1 million-a-day deficit. What do you think he's going to be remembered for 20 years down the road? He's going to be remembered, I think, with disgust and contempt, Mr. Deputy Speaker. That's what he's going to be . . . what this government is going to be remembered by, if it continues down the path of the way it is serving rural Saskatchewan with health care throughout the province. That's how it's going to be remembered.
It's going to be remembered, Mr. Deputy Speaker, of 19 quarters — 19 quarters of continuous population loss, the only province in all of Canada that that is happening in. That's what people are going to be remembering this government — the
depopulation of rural Saskatchewan. The gutting of rural Saskatchewan — that's what this government is going to be remembered for. And it's going to be remembered by disgust and contempt over . . . many years from now. And that contempt and disgust is out there in rural Saskatchewan. All you have to do is look around the members here they've elected, over the number of years. And that disgust and contempt is there. And it's going to be there for a long time.
And you know what, Mr. Deputy Speaker, it's creeping into the cities, the disgust and contempt for that Premier and that government with the three new members that we have here.
And it's going to keep growing, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And eventually we will be getting rid of that government. We came that close to it. When we get rid of that socialist government, it will be the best times for Saskatchewan. And that's what we
need, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Finally maybe we can get this province on the right track and get it growing, Mr. Deputy Speaker, at that end.
With that Mr. Deputy, I think you probably get the idea I'm not going to support this Throne Speech. I've listened to four Throne Speeches that made the same promises. And what did we have, Mr. Deputy Speaker? What did we have after each
Throne Speech through that year? We had population loss. We didn't have any growth in rural Saskatchewan. We had the waiting lists get longer after each and every Throne Speech, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
And I can't see one bit of difference with this Throne Speech.
It's about time this government actually did some action, maybe thought outside the box, forgot about their socialist ideological ideas that just has to be basically just straight socialist. If they're not running it, if the government can't run it, than nobody else can run it. They can't work. Well till this government starts thinking outside the box, this province will keep going backwards, Mr. Deputy Speaker."

Why Brad Wall Should Not Be Allowed To Choose His Own Outfit

Nice pants Bradley!

Crowns Work Because The Private Sector Won't Bring Some Services To Rural Sask

WATCH: Rural politicians call for speedier internet - Saskatchewan - CBC News

You won't get Billy Boyd to acknowledge that Saskatchewan pioneered crown corporations out of necessity and that the province continues to value them because the private sector will not provide services to our far flung, thinly dispersed rural populations.

The entire Saskatchewan Party ideology is based on a belief that private enterprise is always better than public endeavors. Yet when confronted with the reality of life for many rural citizens, Sask Party eyes glaze over and they revert to repeating the mantra of 'private business is good / crown corporations are bad'.

Why Did Sask Party Cabinet Minister Norris Hide Unauthorized Land Sale?

A number of very serious questions have been raised as to why Minister Rob Norris did not disclose an unauthorized land purchase by the SIAST Board of Directors. Were it not for disclosure by the Provincial Auditor, how long would Minister Norris and the Wall Cabinet have hidden this matter? Something smells very badly here.

Regina LP

Someone Should Remind Billy Boyd That He Works For The People Of Saskatchewan Not PotashCorp

Mr Grumpy still has some explaining to do about his little Delisle road trip

During Question Period on March 8, 2011, Bob Bjornrud (minister of agriculture) was answering a question from the Opposition when Boyd interrupted him and jumped to his feet, sputtering what can only be described as an infomercial for PotashCorp. Problem is, Boyd isn't supposed to be so obvious that he is on a leash for the potash industry and does not actually represent the interests of Saskatchewan citizens.

For the record, here is Billy Boyd in the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, March 8, 2011. (Talk about a pinata of crazy!)

Hon. Mr. Boyd: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to respond . . .
[Interjections]
The Speaker: — Order. Order. I.d ask . . . Order. I.d ask members to allow the Minister Responsible for Energy and Resources to respond.
Hon. Mr. Boyd: — I respond to the member opposite, the Leader of the Opposition, in terms of his thoughts about the $1.8 billion . . .
[Interjections]
The Speaker: — Order. I recognize the Minister of Energy and Resources.
Hon. Mr. Boyd: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I respond to the Leader of the Opposition.s call about $1.8 billion of profits. First of all, Potash Corporation has three main areas of business. They have phosphorous, nitrogen, and potash. The first two, nitrogen and phosphorous, are not located in Saskatchewan. So of the $1.8 billion of profits, $1.2 billion is related to potash. So it.s $600 million . . .
[Interjections]
The Speaker: — Order. Order. It.s quite ironic that the members at least not allowing the guests and those who are trying to follow the debate to hear what the minister has to say. I recognize the minister.
Hon. Mr. Boyd: — So it.s $600 million right there less than what the Leader of the Opposition is quoting. He is saying it.s only $76.5 million in royalties. Well if he looks at the balance sheet of Potash Corporation, he would find that it.s much, much more than that if you just read a few lines further down on the balance sheet. If the Leader of the Opposition, the former oil lobbyist, would take a moment and read down a little bit further on the balance sheet, he would see that they paid, in addition to that, significant income taxes. When you total it all up, Mr. Speaker, on $1.2 billion of potash profits, they paid about $350 million. That.s what the real number is, and the Leader of the Opposition knows it full well.
[Interjections]

Too bad that none of the economists familiar with the potash industry agree with Mr. Boyd's figures. Someone should remind this very excitable minister that 'when you are esplainin' you are losin'. I'll drink to that!

No Money For Farmers But Brad Wall Has Billions For PotashCorp

Guess what? Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party government has raised crop insurance premiums by a whopping 21 percent for the province's farmers. This at the same time when uncertainty in the Middle East is driving up fuel prices.

Input costs for our farmers are going through the roof. But Brad Wall continues to argue that he has no money, when in fact the potash companies continue to rip billions out of the ground while flipping the odd nickel of royalty to the people of Saskatchewan.

Dennis Allchurch Dumped By Saskatchewan Party!, He Should Run For The Progressive Conservative Party

You have to wonder what Denis Allchurch ever did to tick off Brad Wall so badly that his seat had to be taken away from him?

The way that the Saskatchewan Party works is that if Brad Wall wanted Allchruch on the ballot, then no one would have even dared to challenge him for the nomination.

Allchurch is the former mayor of the town of Spiritwood and is widely respected locally.

Mr. Allchurch should stand defiant, do the right thing, and find a way to run in the next provincial election.


Sask Party MLA loses nomination fight

"Suddenly, The Fact John Gormley Has A Job Makes Sense" Prairie Dog Blog

OMG is he ever old!
#8track #lavalamps #shagrugs #moodring


Prairie Dog

So funny! Just watch the Sask Party Trolls come out of the woodwork now!

Spring Legislative Session Only Minutes Old When Sask Party Cabinet Minister Forced To Apologize

The spring session of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly was literally only minutes underway when Minister of Education, Donna Harpauer (MLA for Humboldt), was forced to rise in her place, withdraw unparliamentary language and apologize to all Members of the Assembly and to the Speaker.

Arrogance, thy name is 'Saskatchewan Party'.

Brad Wall - he ain't 'pretty' he just looks that way

I'm pretty sure that Brad Wall is a nice enough fellow when politics is not part of the picture.

Were he my next door neighbor, I bet that I could go on holidays and leave the keys to my place with him. I'm absolutely positive that he likes children, puppies and walks in the park.

The problem for Mr. Wall, however, is that when you put him in a politically charged environment, something very sinister seems to creep from the depths of him.

Case in point was the Saskatchewan Party Annual Convention held this past weekend in Saskatoon. (This is the second year in a row where the Saskatchewan Party has met without discussing or voting on any policy measures whatsoever).

During his address to the crowd, Wall held up a copy of the NDP's policy development report and told the audience that it contained a lot of 'crazy'. Unfortunately for Wall, this little quip is going to come back to haunt him. (More on that to come).

If Mr. Wall wants to talk 'crazy', perhaps he needs to be reminded of a few things:

-That giving the potash wealth of the province away for pennies on the dollar is CRAZY!

-Hiring Serge LeClerc to run as a Saskatchewan Party candidate in the last election was CRAZY!

-Fudging the books (as pointed out in today's Saskatoon Star Phoenix) is CRAZY!

-Dropping the 'Equalization' court case against the Federal Government was CRAZY!

-Dropping the carbon capture agreement with Montana (which was done secretly last fall) was CRAZY!

People like the smiling Mr. Wall. They don't get to see the real Mr. Wall very often. The bottom line is this - Brad Wall ain't pretty, he just looks that way!