REGINA - Saskatchewan's new premier is being urged to fight for a better equalization deal at the upcoming first ministers meeting in Ottawa, but Brad Wall said Monday he has a different strategy in mind.
Opposition NDP Leader Lorne Calvert said Wall should use the meeting to push Prime Minister Stephen Harper to keep his promise on equalization.
"Mr. Wall needs to let the federal Conservative government know that Saskatchewan people will accept nothing less than what was promised," said Calvert.
During the last federal election, Harper promised to remove non-renewable resource revenues from the equalization formula. But in the budget the Conservatives put a cap on the amount a province can receive under the program.
Calvert, who was Saskatchewan's premier at the time, was angered.
His NDP government filed a constitutional challenge of the federal equalization program.
Wall supported the notion of a court action over equalization when the federal Liberals were in power in 2005, but changed his tune after his Saskatchewan Party took power last fall. The newly elected premier called the case "dubious."
On Monday, Wall noted that the previous government didn't make any progress in the fight on equalization.
He said that's why he'll go into the first ministers meeting at 24 Sussex Drive on Friday focusing on other issues.
"Equalization is for 'have-not' provinces and we're a 'have' province," said Wall. "That doesn't mean there's any less case for federal government investment and partnership in our province.
"We want to have a vision of remaining a 'have' province and then pressing hard and aggressively for a federal partnership in key areas to make sure the current boom lasts."
Saskatchewan can do better than equalization payments, he said, if the strategy focuses on priority areas such as the labour shortage, long-term infrastructure and the energy sector.
But Calvert said he's concerned that means Wall will "sacrifice" the equalization fight.
"It should not be a circumstance where even before the meeting you're saying, 'Well, I'm willing to back off that and look at some other issues like infrastructure,"' Calvert said.
"Yes, I'd be participating with every other premier in terms of federal involvement in infrastructure, federal involvement in dealing with industries in this country that are being hurt by the high Canadian dollar.
"But I would not be leaving at home the promise that Mr. Harper made to the people of Saskatchewan."
