Madam Speaker, I thank the member from Kamloops for his great intervention on Saskatchewan provincial politics.
Since I live there and he does not, I can tell him that being a have not province regardless of who is governing us is not a great thing to be. Regardless of what government has been in Saskatchewan the problem we have seen is that we still have not fulfilled the potential we have in that great province. We have the resources, the pioneering spirit and the entrepreneurial drive.
Under the NDP government we have seen in the last number of years utility rates rather than taxes go through the roof. Those are not part of the equalization system. We have seen a 9% PST hike and we have backed off a little on that. Roads are in terrible disarray. Health care is abysmal with waiting lines that are unacceptable.
It does not seem to matter what government is in power. It still comes down to some cash transfers from the federal government that everybody relies on. It becomes a disincentive to get out there and make things happen on your own.