After Premier Wall's Oscar winning performance yesterday in rejecting the BHP takeover, his opposition can no longer say he is a toady for big business.
Since the PCs have come off life-support, albeit still in critical condition, and will be running candidates in the next election, it will be a difficult sell by the NDP to call the Sask Party the Sask-a-Tories. The Tories are still alive, although not well.
The Liberals seem to have established themselves as the right wing of the NDP, while the Greens hold the left wing position.
Things do not look good for Mr. Lingenfelter come next year.
On the other had, if Harper gives a green light to BHP, Layton will be an extremely happy man.
Everyone, get out your box of crayons, pick your color and try to say within the lines. It simply confuses voters when the lines and colors get blurred.
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I think what is lost in all of this is that PCS would quite happily sell to BHP if the price was higher.
ReplyDeleteIf BHP turned around tomorrow and upped their price all of this posturing would be for naught. BHP would gain control, Canpotex would go the way of the dodo and the province would be staring down the barrel of lower royality revenues.
So essentially, Wall is picking sides in this fight by siding with PCS - which is choosing a winner and a loser, something he campaigned against.
The NDP is doing no better on the issue.
Suprisingly, I find myself in agreement with Harper on this one.
Let's not kid ourselves, PCSs position isn't one of principle - it is purely profit driven.
For us to expect anything else is just silly and naive.
When, not if, the PCS sale is completed how much will the Chicago based execs take home and not pay a sent of Saskatchean tax? I would bet it exceeds 1billion. The share options for PCS execs is obcene and any notion that Mr. Doyle cares a lick for Saskatchewan or it's citizens is equally obcene.
ReplyDeleteIt definately will make the upcoming election(s) verrrry interesting! Watch all the spin doctors in action.... GO RIDERS!
ReplyDeleteThis what the liberal leader of saskatchewan is saying what do you think of this?Sask Party and NDP say “Saskatchewan Closed for Business”
ReplyDeleteOctober 22, 2010
COMMENTARY - The Government and Opposition Parties are both hypocritical and short sighted in their united decision to interfere in the potential sale of PotashCorp.
Brad Wall is clearly playing favourites in direct contrast to his own mantra that government should not pick winners and losers. This sale is not about Saskatchewan control - it is about the sale of an American-based company to an Australian-based company. Wall has no right to undermine the rights of private individuals to sell their shares to the highest bidder.
No private company owns the potash and to suggest that we would lose control of our resource through a possible sale is false. The people of Saskatchewan own the potash, and we are a key part of the business equation as a supplier. The way to ensure control is to assert ourselves through stronger resource policy that maximizes the benefit to Saskatchewan people.
Furthermore, both the Sask Party and the NDP are suddenly demanding that PotashCorp move its Head Office from Chicago to Saskatoon. If this was so important to them they why did they allow the Head Office to move in the first place? Where have they been for the past twenty years?
Wall’s real motivation to block this sale is his need for immediate cash in order to run his government. Both the Sask Party and the NDP have been far too dependent on resource revenues in order to fund their bloated budgets. While citing a possibility of deferred revenue of $2billion over ten years they ignore the possibility of long term prosperity through added investment and new jobs.
Of course, Brad Wall and Dwain Lingenfelter do not think long term. They only think in four year election cycles. Career politicians do that.
Even worse, they have just told the world that Saskatchewan is closed for business.
- Ryan Bater, Saskatchewan Liberal Leader
Mistress- this was a great post- clever and well-written. I do think that Wall is doing what he should be doing and that is preserving the value of the potash reserves for the people of the province. His job and responsibility crosses all party lines. I agree that he should have been there sooner, making sure that the company lived up to their commitments to keep the head office in the province (and not just in name alone). But better late than never. He can make sure that they follow through on all their promises to the province going forward.
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