“The Wall government’s mismanagement of the finances has left the people of Saskatchewan with over a billion dollar deficit,” Chartier said. “But while cuts to infrastructure, healthcare, education, and agriculture are affecting people’s lives, the Wall government seems to have no problem spending almost 14% more on this vanity pavilion for the Premier. I’m sure many communities in Saskatchewan would be more than happy to receive that kind of money to build or upgrade recreation facilities here in Saskatchewan.”
Chartier said as well that she was disappointed to learn that none of the extra money will be dedicated toward athlete development or showcasing Saskatchewan’s artistic talent at the pavilion. She said while the cost for the pavilion continues to spiral upward, the government’s commitment to athletes and artists remains stagnant at an unacceptably low level.
“If the Wall government was truly committed to having an effective and noticeable presence at the Vancouver Olympics, helping our Saskatchewan athletes reach the top of the podium would be a much better way,” Chartier said. “With priorities like these and an inability to budget properly, taxpayers should be very concerned about the runaway cost of this project that will provide no tangible help to our athletes or artists - our true ambassadors.”
Chartier was also critical of what she described as very creative accounting on the part of the Wall government as it claims it is still on target to achieve its overall Olympic budget of $7.2 million. However, she said that is only possible with the removal from the budget of $700,000 previously earmarked for High Definition video production.
“Make no mistake, the Wall government has once again spent beyond its means and is unable to budget properly,” Chartier said. “Saskatchewan taxpayers will be paying this bill regardless of the Wall government’s continued attempts to hide from its fiscal incompetence.”
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Under the Wall government we went from having $2.3 billion in the bank to a $1.05 billion deficit in less than 2 years
"People complained about the highways, and now they’re complaining about these beds. Which do they want, highways or health care?"
- Saskatchewan Party MLA for Cannington and Government House Leader, Dan D'Autremont
Lingenfelter: Sask. families deserve real commitment to health care...
February 17, 2010
"I hear stories from across the province of doctors being forced to leave their communities, facing overwhelming workloads and burnout. Saskatchewan families counting on our health care system don't deserve to be the latest victims of Brad Wall's mismanagement of the province's finances. It's time for the Wall government to show a real commitment to rural health care and the thousands of people who depend upon it." -NDP Leader Dwain Lingenfelter, R Town News
