Power to the People

Only now is the euphoria I felt after the Saskatchewan Liberal Convention last weekend starting to wane. There is little doubt that the event put some wind in our sails as a party as it renewed our focus and our resolve. At a time when the Legislature is dogged with scandal, mud slinging, and MLAs behaving badly, it was refreshing to see our party come together and have an open, honest discussion about the issues facing Saskatchewan.
 
The theme of the convention was “Power to the People: Energy, Entrepreneurship, and Empowerment.” The title was not chosen because I happen to be a big John Lennon fan (although I am). It was chosen because we wanted to focus on how entrepreneurs could be empowered to play a greater role in our energy mix and because we wanted to continue a meaningful discussion on the area of sustainability in aboriginal communities. 
 
The speakers were fantastic. Vision of Earth gave us an overview of Saskatchewan’s energy future and proposals for future development. Vice Chief Delbert Wapass from the FSIN told us his story of growing up on Thunderchild First Nation (just north of my home of the Battlefords), how a deeper understanding of the Treaties was central to a stronger partnership between First Nations and other Canadians, and how Education was central to his philosophy of an empowered individual.
 
The debate during the policy sessions was spirited. The freedom of thought and expression were nurtured as our delegates deliberated one policy after the other- each of them focused and in tune with our Prairie Liberal Principles. 
 
Policies approved include (but aren’t limited to): the introduction of a feed-in tariff that would allow anyone to produce renewable energy and sell it back to the electrical grid; opposition to Enterprise Saskatchewan in favour of a de-centralized approach to encourage local decision making; directing a portion of one-time resource revenues to a new Saskatchewan Future Fund; and a commitment to First Nations and Métis principles including the use of the Treaties as a blueprint for the future.
 
Our resolve as a party is clear after that convention: we will fight even harder for the empowerment of the individual in Saskatchewan and the movement toward an entrepreneurial culture. 
 
And that is certainly something to get excited about!