Former Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says the Mark Carney Liberals were right to campaign on economic issues but he doubts they will deliver results.“The economy pays for everything,” Wall told former radio host John Gormley at the Hotel Saskatchewan on Oct. 16. The two shared the stage in a fireside chat as the Canadian Taxpayers Federation honoured Wall with a Tax Fighter Award for his opposition to carbon taxes.Wall offered voting advice to 300 attendees at the event.“Pick the candidate, pick the party whose number one priority is the economy…not health care, not education, not climate change--the economy. And then you ask them, how does their plan further their number one priority,” Wall said.Saskatchewan’s fourth-longest serving premier said the federal election was “interesting” because Carney had the smarts to emphasize the right priority.“He understood that Canadians thought it was time for the federal government to be focused on the economy and not on climate change or whatever else Trudeau was focused on,” Wall said.“The jury is still out, though, as to whether or not he is going to act on what he said. And I would say that it ain't looking good, folks, it ain't looking good," Wall added..According to Wall, Carney can’t take much credit for projects listed as getting possible fast-tracking through his Major Projects Office. He stated most were almost good to go already.“I think all of them, but one, are in the final stages of approval,” Wall said.Although the premier recalled saying, “Hope beats fear” in his 2007 election victory speech, he acknowledged a current discussion on the state of the West could get “depressing.”“People would sometimes ask me, ‘Are you Saskatchewan first, or Canadian first?’ I'm Saskatchewan first,” Wall said.Wall, who turns 60 next month and lives in the Cypress Hills in southwest Saskatchewan, said the West is still greatly outnumbered in the House of Commons, which inevitably shifts federal political focus to Central Canada at election time, even for the Conservative Party.“Our only point for remedy, if federal policy is hurting Western interests, is the House of Commons, and we don't have the seats. And there's no prospect of that changing anytime soon,” Wall explained.“Every now and then, we get a federal government that doesn't take a dim view of how we make a living. And those episodes are few and far between, and they are short. They don't last very long,” Wall said..Wall said hopes of changing the Constitution for a remedy are impractical. He recalled that former Ontario Liberal Premier David Peterson was willing to “put a little water in his wine” on Senate representation at negotiations leading to the unratified Meech Lake Accord in the 1990’s, but good will is hard to find.“Any [constitutional] amendments are going to have to go through Queen's Park in Toronto or the Quebec National Assembly in Quebec. And those premiers, are they going to give away stuff that they already have? Are they going to dilute their influence? No,” Wall said.This means Western premiers must stand up strong for their provinces, Wall said.“Our best defense and our best remedy for all of these things is a strong provincial government and Premier and Cabinet that understands they are going to stand up at all costs and protect Saskatchewan's interest. In Alberta, that Premier is going to stand up and protect Alberta's interests. And you know what? There's a bit more hope when Saskatchewan and Alberta work together on things," Wall explained.Wall said Saskatchewan and Alberta stood together successfully to get the National Resource Transfer Act of 1930 and won some concessions on resources and the notwithstanding clause during negotiations leading up to the 1982 Constitution Act.“There is a little bit of hope there, but the reality of the Federation is what it is. It's really important to have a premier like Scott Moe who puts a priority on defending the interests of the province of Saskatchewan,” Wall concluded.
