tank: what would sask. to-do list look like if conservatives had won?

1. negotiate to end chinese tariffs on processed canola. if this were the liberals, we would criticize the tariffs on chinese electric vehicles that sparked the trade dispute. but we know you called for the ev tariffs in august, mr. poilievre, so we’re not all that worked up about assigning blame.
2.  get tough on crime and use the notwithstanding clause — we used it here in saskatchewan and it feels good to override people’s rights. other than that, we can’t think of any good advice.
   we call ourselves a tough-on-crime government, but we’ve failed terribly at addressing malfeasance. however, we have started a new police force with fancy hats.
3. let us get away with our illegal withholding of the carbon tax on home heating and we promise no more lawsuits while you’re in power. we hope to spend so much less on lawyers with a federal conservative government, we might just balance our budget (kidding).
4. we only found out there was an industrial carbon tax when you came out against it (even though we were collecting it, apparently, as part of our made-in-saskatchewan climate plan). so axe that tax!
   but can you cancel the consumer carbon tax again, just so i can do the victory dance that i couldn’t do when the liberals did it?
5. we were happy to make the liberals look like the bad guys because we want to explore extending the life of coal-fired power plants. but, of course, it was the conservatives under stephen harper that introduced rules requiring the phaseout of coal plants by 2030.
   we also once believed in clean electricity targets and just wanted a little more time to get there. we changed our minds to reject the targets outright when the federal election was looming. but, with a conservative government in ottawa, we now value flexibility.
6. here is where we would normally ask for an end to the oil and gas sector emissions cap, but we know you feel the same way we do on pesky environmental regulations that could impede our corporate donors.
7. reform equalization (kidding again). we think equalization is a truly awful policy that tears at the fabric of our nation when the liberals are in power. and we’re willing to join in lawsuits challenging it.
   but when conservatives are governing the country, we feel patience and co-operation represent far better strategies. (we also know you said this year that you have no intention of changing equalization and the last thing we want to do is embarrass you.)
8. restore the investment climate and get out of the way when somebody wants to build a big project. (by the way, this is the only context in which we will express any concern about climate.)
9. expand pipeline capacity, even if nobody out there wants to build one. we know that the previous prime minister bought and built a pipeline at a $34-billion cost to taxpayers in a 12-year odyssey that saw the price rise more than six-fold. and that it’s not operating at capacity.
   but that was the justin trudeau liberals and we don’t count that.
10. stop infringing on provincial jurisdiction. hey, these are all just softball suggestions that align nicely with your election campaign promises. as so-called conservatives, we should be concerned that your platform included no plan to balance the budget.
    but the saskatchewan party long ago abandoned balanced budgets as a fanciful notion, so we can support a federal government with no such plan — provided that government boasts the right brand.

our websites are your destination for up-to-the-minute saskatchewan news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and leaderpost.com. for regina leader-post newsletters click here; for saskatoon starphoenix newsletters click here