Posted July 23, 2010
In spite of outrageous and insulting comments about Saskatchewan from a lowly backbench Conservative MP, Brad Wall has been ‘missing in action' and has once again failed to stand up and speak out on behalf of Saskatchewan people, NDP Leader Dwain Lingenfelter charged.
"Where is Wall, and why has he failed to call Prime Minister Stephen Harper to demand an immediate apology for the outrageous comments made by Conservative MP Brad Trost this week, and get the Prime Minister's personal commitment that Saskatchewan's request for a deadline extension on the federal stimulus program will be given serious consideration?" Lingenfelter asked.
"There are tens of millions of dollars at stake here, because if the Harper government fails to extend the deadline, federal funds could be lost for a number of Saskatchewan municipal projects started under the federal stimulus program. It is time for Wall to put politics aside, and for once go to bat for Saskatchewan people," Lingenfelter said.
"Wall's silence this week gives us a ‘defining moment' with respect to his weak leadership: he puts the political prospects of his Conservative cousins in Ottawa ahead of the needs of the people of Saskatchewan. Wall has sold us out once again," Lingenfelter said.
"This is not the first time Wall has failed to show leadership with respect to the Harper government. He gave up $800 Million a year in resource revenues without a fight, he stood silent while carbon capture projects in Alberta received hundreds of millions in federal funds and Saskatchewan received nothing, and he actually thanked Harper for providing disaster relief funding for Saskatchewan farmers that was less than a third of what was needed. Brad Wall has proven himself to be the ‘high prince of surrender'! Saskatchewan people demand and deserve far better," Lingenfelter concluded.