PREMIER OF SASKATCHEWAN

LEGISLATIVE BUILDING REGINA CANADA S4S 0B3

6th Annual Manning Networking Conference Ottawa Convention Centre, Ottawa

“Canada: Food and energy superpower. We should start acting like it.”

February 28, 2014 Premier Brad Wall’s Address

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“Canada: Food and energy superpower.

We should start acting like it.”

Speech by Premier Brad Wall

to the 6th Annual Manning Networking Conference

February 28, 2014

(Applause)

PREMIER BRAD WALL: Good morning. Good morning. You should sit down.

You haven't heard what I have to say yet --

(Laughter)

-- but thank you very much for that warm welcome. Preston, thanks for the

introduction. And Mr. Strahl, and to the Board, and to the Manning Centre,

thanks for this Conference. Thank you for the chance to participate with you

here today.

Preston touched on some of the things that have been

happening in Saskatchewan. We always make sure that people understand

that the government is not taking credit for some of the good news that‟s

occurring in the province in terms of the lowest unemployment rate and

some record investment that‟s happened and some of the good economic

numbers. I think yesterday the weekly earning numbers were out again and I

think we were third in the country in terms of an increase and we‟re usually

in that range. Credit for all of those things goes to the people of the Province

of Saskatchewan, goes to our SMEs, our small businesses, the large

corporations, world-class champions that we have in Saskatchewan. We also

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need to recognize good fortune and providential blessings. We have a lot of

things going for us and we try to do that.

But we are, as a government, trying to stay out of the way of

people that can create economic advantage. We‟re also trying to set the right

tone, the right business climate, the right investment environment in

Saskatchewan and that does include some of the measures around fiscal

probity that Preston mentioned.

We will, in a couple of weeks, table in the Saskatchewan

Legislature the seventh consecutive balanced budget and --

(Applause)

-- it‟s my observation this morning that none of them balance themselves.

(Laughter)

They all took some decisions and some of them are challenging, especially

this year with revenue flat, but we know the importance of fiscal

responsibility as a cornerstone of our growth agenda.

Speaking about Saskatchewan outside the province is one of

the best parts of my job. It‟s why I often say I think I have the -- I have the

best job in Canada. Some of my staff, because they're unhelpful, wanted to

test that thesis and they actually determined that I don't even have the best

job amongst people named Brad Wall. There's a Brad Wall that‟s a pro bass

fisherman in the United States doing pretty well. There's a Brad Wall who's a

pretty good mixed marshal artist. There is a Brad Wall who is on the

Australian PGA. He's a professional golfer. And maybe most troubling of all,

we found in the Wall Street Journal reference to a Brad Wall -- and I'm not

making this up -- who is the senior vice-president of Krispy Kreme

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Doughnuts.

(Laughter)

He is responsible for the supply chaining for the doughnut company and so

this takes him all over the United States where he must ensure the logistics of

doughnut sales and apparently test the doughnuts and for this, he makes $1

million a year.

(Laughter)

So I now know how 30 percent of the people of Saskatchewan feel because I

hate Brad Wall too.

(Laughter)

I should also bring you greetings this morning on behalf of

Rider Nation.

(Applause)

I'm not sure if you've heard, but we won the Grey Cup this year.

(Applause)

And the Rider Nation is a goal-oriented nation and we've set a goal to be

insufferable for the rest of this season and I think we may be -- yes, thank

you. Deb says we‟re doing well, especially in places like Winnipeg and

Calgary and Winnipeg, if I haven't mentioned that.

(Laughter)

Some people have pointed out to us, by the way, that, you

know, before you get all about the Riders, you've only won four

championships in the 101-year history of the CFL. This is true, but we always

point out that since 2007, since the government changed, we've been in four

and we've won two.

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(Laughter)

And some have pointed out to me, by the way, that the Saskatchewan

Roughriders have never won a Grey Cup during the 47-year rule of the

CCF/NDP.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Some have asked me if I'm going to use that in the next election

campaign. Yes, actually, we are going to use it.

(Laughter)

So, ladies and gentlemen, the context for my remarks

this morning is the simple premise that today we live in a world where

the fastest growing economies in that world prize food security and

energy security. Their middle classes are growing rapidly. They are

demanding ever more protein-intense diets, new technologies, modern

comforts, better transportation. So, in that world -- and forgive me the

use of this too-oft implied rhetorical device, but in that world I want to

tell you about a place.

This place is the sixth largest producer of crude oil on

the planet. It has the third largest proven oil reserves on earth. It

produces in any given year 15 to 20 percent of the world‟s supply of

uranium and the richest grade of uranium you'll find anywhere in the

world. It is a home to energy innovation, proving to the world even

that clean coal is not an oxymoron focused on technologies for

sustainable energy development.

This place also, by the way in this context this morning,

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has land and a lot of land, the third largest number of arable acres per

capita on the planet. This place is the third largest wheat exporter in

the world. It produces 51 percent of the world‟s lentils. Think about

that in those fast-growing economies that want protein replacement.

Half of the lentils on earth come from this place; 48 percent of the

world‟s pea exports; 43 percent of the world‟s mustard exports. Fifteen

percent of that comes back and ends up, I think, on my ties. Forty-two

percent of the world‟s canola seed exports; 41 percent of the world‟s

canola oil exports. This place produces 30 percent of the world‟s

flaxseed exports and it is home to 45 percent of the known reserves of

that very strategic fertilizer, especially in those growing economies,

known as potash, 45 percent of the world‟s reserves. It‟s home to --

(Applause)

Yeah, we should clap for that.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

It‟s home to leading agricultural technologies,

biosciences, life sciences, yes, GMO technologies that are helping to

feed a hungry world. Remembering again the context this morning, the

fast growing economies of the world want food security and energy

security. This place must be well positioned, wouldn't you think? This

place must have a very bright future ahead of it given that context,

never mind whatever other resources it might have. Just in terms of

these two areas, its future is bright.

But I think there's something a little troubling about

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that place this morning as well. Some of her leadership, some of her

“elite” are not very comfortable with some of these facts it would seem,

maybe unaware, but I think mostly uncomfortable; some even ashamed

of some of those things this place has to offer. Of course, I'm talking

about the country that you love, the country that I love, that beautiful

and bountiful expansive odds-defined, promise-filled Dominion of

Canada. And Canada is at a most propitious point in its history

because we are an energy power with opportunity to increase that

standing. And we are a food power with opportunity to increase that

standing into superpower status. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a good

thing for a country, for yours. We ought to be proud of it. We ought to

never be ashamed that we have these things that the world wants.

And by the way, if one region of the country might have

the elements of this truth, whatever those were, in some greater

proportion than other regions of the country, let us all rally around

them and help them develop those, help them explore new markets,

ensure that we have opportunity for today and legacy for tomorrow

because what is good for one region of this country is good for all of

Canada.

(Applause)

In Saskatchewan, we do not yet have any commercial

oil sands development. We have the geology. Our Energy Minister is

here. He's been working with Cenovus. They have a play up there.

They're looking at it, but we do not yet have a commercial play for oil

sands in Northern Saskatchewan, but we are glad that Alberta does.

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We are proud that Alberta has this resource. We are proud that Alberta

companies, together with the government, are working to ensure that it

is sustainably developed. It puts us on the world energy map in a big

way. It‟s why we have the third most proven reserves on earth. We

should all be proud of that.

In Saskatchewan, we‟re the second largest producer of

oil in Canada and we have a large share of the Bakken Formation. The

Bakken Formation, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, is the

largest conventional play in North America, bigger than Prudhoe Bay,

one that we share grudgingly with Montana and North Dakota. We‟re

trying to take care of that through horizontal drilling, you know, but --

(Laughter)

-- but I hope you're proud of that. I hope the rest of the country sees

this as an asset for all of Canada.

We have the richest uranium on earth in that 17 to 20

percent. We think this is a good thing. It ought to be a source of pride

as we sustainably develop it. And 45 percent of all the world‟s potash

in this completely contrived place that‟s hard to spell and easy to draw,

the Province of Saskatchewan, in a world that wants that strategic

fertilizer. We hope the country would be proud of that.

Today, China is growing at a sluggish 7.5 percent. The

ASEAN, 5.1 percent. Indonesia‟s about 6.2 at 230 million people.

India, 5.4 percent. They need and they will need for some time the

building blocks of a growing economy - energy. Consider then the

opportunity for us in this country. Consider the opportunity right at

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our Pacific doorstep. We are an energy power. We ought to be aspirant

to be an energy superpower and then we ought to talk like it and we

ought to act like it.

According to the United Nations, the world will have to

grow 70 percent -- think about this now -- 70 percent more food by

2050 just to keep up with population growth. Consider then the

opportunity right at our Pacific doorstep, right at our Atlantic doorstep.

We are a food power. We ought to be aspirant to being a food

superpower. Then we should act like it. We should claim it. We

should boldly stake a claim to these things and work that claim as

though we were amidst a rush of Yukon proportions. And we need to

refute or maybe at best politely ignore those who opine against

boldness in our country, those who say it is un-Canadian to make such

claims, let alone to act on them. I think they have forgotten that our

country was built against every continental tendency, built across

unimaginable distance and terrain, bridging deep and dangerous

chasms in language and religion and culture, built effectively by a

railroad, a state crafter from Kingston, a couple of cases of Madeira,

and epic boldness, audacity.

You know, a few years ago our country was getting

ready to host the Vancouver Olympics. The Canadian Olympic

Committee introduced a new program and, you know, it was

considered a departure. I don't know if you remember the debate that

ensued. It was called “Own the Podium.” They had a detailed plan

about improving Canada‟s Olympic performance. They were going to

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identify those things we could excel at. They were going to resource

them and support our athletes and it was going to start with an attitude

or maybe more accurately an attitude change. It was about believing

that our country and her athletes could be the best in the world. I've

never understood why, but this made a lot of people very

uncomfortable.

You'll recall that when “Own the Podium” was first

announced, there was some handwringing and some tut-tutting and

people did say that it seemed to be a little un-Canadian. Here's an

example: (Audio recording)

This was during the Canadian

Olympics. The Canadians were saying,

“Own the Podium,” and I put out

something that said, “Oh, it‟s a bit

brash to say. It‟s a bit un-Canadian.

It‟s a bit too brash to say, „Own the

Podium.‟”

I don't want to pick on Margaret Atwood.

(Laughter)

She was not the only person saying these things. There were others,

but I wanted to show you that clip for two reasons. First, I know

Margaret Atwood will be excited that she spoke to the Manning

Conference this year.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

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But, second, maybe we should consider what she had to say. Maybe

she's right. See what you think. (Audio recording of „O Canada‟)

(Applause)

Looks pretty Canadian to me.

In our province, we had to overcome some attitudinal

challenges not very long ago. When we were in Opposition, our then

Leader, Elwin Hermanson, put forward an economic plan for the

province informed by a goal, informed by a population goal actually.

We thought that would be a good measure as a province that too often

bought luggage for students when they graduated because they were

going somewhere else. Population was an important metric for our

economic progress and so we set this objective of the province growing

by a hundred thousand people in ten years. And at the time many in

academia weighed in and said unequivocally that this was not

achievable, that the government ought never to base its policies of the

day on growth because it wasn't possible.

Remember the resources that we‟re talking about, the

people that we‟re talking about. And government of the day was

listening to those who said those things because I was in the Legislature

when a Finance Minister for the NDP government who -- I'm not going

to name him, but his initials are -- Harry Van Mulligen said that --

(Laughter)

-- that this was farcical. Actually, that was a quote. It was completely

unrealistic for the province to grow in this way. Think about this. We

were advocating that province‟s population grow by the national

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average, one percent a year. We weren't talking about finding Bigfoot

and the view was that this was not achievable.

Well, those people were right. The province didn't grow

by a hundred thousand people in ten years. It did it in six.

(Applause)

Now, the point is that attitudinal shifts are important.

The point I'm trying to make this morning, “Own the Podium” is

working. It doesn't guarantee victory. It doesn't guarantee success, but

it gives us the best chance at success and that does sound pretty

Canadian to me. If Canada can own the podium in Olympic sports, we

can do it economically. We can identify our strengths. We can focus on

them. We can stop being afraid of talking about what those strengths

might be and defending our economic interest. We can own the energy

podium and the food podium, but it‟s not just enough to say it; we‟re

going to need a plan. And some of the things that our current federal

government has done, a lot of the things are taking us down the road to

that plan already.

First and foremost, we need to maintain the

fundamentals in this country, fiscal responsibility. We need to make

sure our taxes are competitive. If we‟re going to own those podiums,

we need to make sure our regulatory environment is competitive. If

we‟re going to own those podiums, we need to make sure we are

balancing the budget. Thomas Jefferson said, “We must make our

election between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude.”

We've got to lay the case out pretty good. We ought to choose economy

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and liberty. The point is without fiscal discipline and a sensible

competitive tax system, we will not make progress. It'll be difficult to

own those podiums.

Second, we need to invest in innovation, especially in

these areas. There needs to be public investment where it‟s not a

commercial proposition just yet and more private investment where it

can be.

In Saskatchewan, we are showing that clean coal is not

an oxymoron. We‟re going to go live on the world‟s largest clean-coal

project in Southeast Saskatchewan. We‟re taking CO2 off of the -- off a

coal-fired plant. We‟re selling it to the oil companies who are using it

as a solvent and re-animating previously thought to be old well sites,

increasing production, and then we‟re going to store it as we have been

storing it in Saskatchewan for about 20 years. We'll store it

geologically.

We‟re investing in the private sector significantly in

agriculture and bioscience, in nuclear science in our province. As a

country, we need to focus on where we can win in food and energy and

also invest in innovation.

Third, and this is important. I'm going to spend just a

bit of time if you'll permit me. We need to make sure we are getting

what we have to market. If the world wants what we have, it‟s got to get

to those places. And what's happening today in the world and in our

country should alarm us all. There are 50 ships today waiting off the

Port of Vancouver and at Prince Rupert, empty and waiting for

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Saskatchewan and Canadian grain. Our logistic system simply can't get

it to them right now. Japan has switched their wheat buying from our

country to the United States. We haven't made any sales to Algeria yet.

That's a solid customer, not because we don't have the wheat, but we

can't get it there, so the grain handlers, the marketers, aren't making

those calls because they know they can't deliver. If we‟re going to be a

food power, if we‟re going to be an energy power, an export power,

we've got to make sure that we have the logistics in this country.

And we need to support the federal government and

Minister Ritz has been doing a good job on this file. We need to

support them to take whatever steps they need to take to ensure that

this issue is dealt with today and for the long term.

And for those in --

(Applause)

For those who aren't that familiar with agriculture,

maybe they live far away from it, this underscores both Canada‟s ability

to produce world-class crops in terms of volume and quality and how it

impacts people. The officials tell us that we‟re 15 to 20 days away of

General Mills running out of oats for Cheerios, 15 to 20 days away

because they can't get it. We‟re a principal supplier of that crop and I

don't know about you, but I like Cheerios and I -- and all the other

things that come from that particular crop. And it underscores how

important your country is, doesn't it, in that value chain if that‟s what

those U.S. food processors are saying. Fifteen days worth of supply and

then it‟s done. This is an important issue.

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The fourth element, I think -- we think is international

engagement. CETA is a good deal. Credit the federal government for

herding all the provincial (inaudible) in all the sectors and all the

industry to conclude a historic trade deal with the European Union.

It‟s going to be great for agriculture.

(Applause)

At our request, the federal government also has removed restrictions

on uranium investment in our province from companies in Europe.

We think that might mean about $2.5 billion in added investment in

greenfield projects in Saskatchewan. It‟s a good deal.

But, folks, if you like free trade with Europe, you're

going to love freer trade with Asia. And so we need as a country to

pivot to Asia, to conclude the next trade deal there, and it looks like it‟s

South Korea. And we need to make sure, ladies and gentlemen, that

not -- that there isn‟t one particular sector of the economy in our

country that holds up an important first Asian trade deal in South

Korea. And when that deal is over, let's get on to the next one and let's

encourage the federal government to pursue their multilateral

intentions at TPP and with the ASEAN region.

In five years, the combined Asian economies will be a

third larger than the EU economy. Between 2010 and 2025, Asian

populations are expected to grow by 550 million people, while Europe

is going to decline. You know, we always quote Wayne Gretzky.

Remember when he said, “Well, I was pretty good at hockey because I

anticipated where the puck was going to be rather than where it was,”

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and we quote him and then we really don‟t do anything about it. The

puck‟s been in Asia for a long time. It‟s going to be there and so the

steps the federal government is currently taking need to be encouraged

and accelerated so we can conclude those agreements.

Engagement, by the way, also means that we as

Canadians need to be ready to engage in the debate. Sometimes they're

controversial. That comes from increased trade and energy and food,

whether it‟s about bitumen or whether it‟s about GMOs. As Canadians,

we understand what John Adams said when he mentioned that, “Facts

are stubborn things.” We need to start though defending the facts and

articulating those facts in these debates that are occurring now here in

our country and in our customer countries, facts like -- in the context of

Keystone, facts like that there are today 80 pipelines carrying

hydrocarbons between Canada and the United States and they've been

doing it for years right under Daryl Hannah‟s nose.

(Laughter)

It means --

(Applause)

It means pointing out to Martin Sheen and Neil Young and Robert

Redford and other technical advisors to the Administration --

(Laughter)

-- that there is not another country on the planet that is an energy-

producing country that is investing more per capita or by any other

measure from a public sector and a private sector in improving the

sustainability of energy development. There simply isn't. You won't

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find one. There's not one investing more in terms of habitat,

reclamation, in innovation and energy, and we should tell somebody

that as they're making these decisions. It means pointing out, by the

way, also that our energy competitors -- because if you're not buying

from us, you're buying from someone else -- in many cases do fail in

unspeakable ways the cause of humanity, the cause of human rights

and liberty and that they have little to no public or private interest,

frankly, in the environmental issues around energy development. We

need to use the facts.

Where we can, we should use a bit of humour. About a

year ago I was in Washington lobbying on the Keystone and Martin

Sheen for whatever reason was in Saskatchewan at a conference and

the media scrummed him and asked him, “What do you think of the

fact that the Premier is in Washington lobbying for Keystone? Do you

have a message for him?” and he said, “Yes, yes, I do.” And here's what

he said to me through the media. He was talking to me. He said,

“Don‟t do this,” lobby for Keystone. “It‟s not going to be something

you're going to be proud of in the future.” And I heard that and I

thought, “I hope you said that to Charlie actually at some point.”

(Laughter)

That probably would have been --

(Applause)

We need to engage and when we do so, we need to be united, and so it

is not helpful.

I understand there's going to be a debate around energy

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in its different forms in our country. It‟s a free country. It‟s a

democracy, but when we go abroad, whether we‟re in opposition or

whether we‟re in government, when we go abroad and visit a capital

that might be making a decision that would have a huge economic

impact on thousands of families that work in the oil sands or the energy

sector in our country, maybe we should be a bit circumspect. Maybe we

should consider the interests of our country. And when I see

opposition politicians going down to Washington to lobby against the

interests of the economy of Western Canada, that is hard to understand

and we need to encourage those folks to stop doing that. Have the

debate. Have the discussion, but let's be united as we engage in --

maybe we ought not to call important parts of the economy that are

creating wealth for all of Canada a disease, the Dutch disease. Maybe

we ought not to do that either.

We also need to be --

(Applause)

As a country, we need to be as consistent as possible

when we engage. I am grateful that the Leader of the Third Party

supports Keystone. We should all be because this is this unity we‟re

talking about and consensus. We should support this fact. But I do not

know how you can support Keystone and be against Gateway. I don't

understand how you can make that argument, especially to our

American friends. How do you advocate for Keystone XL, which is a

pipeline carrying bitumen across the United States to the ocean, but be

against Gateway, which is a pipeline carrying bitumen across our

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country to the ocean? And I've had this put to me by the Chairman of

the Senate Energy Committee when I was there last March. He said,

“So you want us to approve Keystone? You can't even get Gateway

approved,” and I didn't have a real good answer for that. I don't think

the story about the sun and the wind is going to cut that. I think we

need to be consistent --

(Laughter)

-- when it comes to these issues of energy transportation.

Ladies and gentlemen, I just believe that we should be

very hopeful about the future of this country. If we get some of these

things right, I believe we can be an energy superpower. I believe we

can be a food superpower. And there's many other things we will offer

the world, but I want to focus on these things today. We need to claim

that though first as a goal and then act on it and, in order to act on it,

we‟re going to need political licence from our fellow citizens. We‟re

going to need their support. We‟re going to need to ensure that they

agree with this plan, that they like the action points to get us to where

we need to be.

And I want to close with this. We as free enterprisers

aren't very good at explaining the why, frankly. As I say, we‟re not very

good at finishing the sentence, the sentence that starts with, “I believe

in these free enterprise principles because it will grow the economy,

because,” and sometimes we talk about the GDP and maybe we'd get

the jobs and that‟s not even quite good enough, but I don't believe we‟re

able to answer -- to finish that sentence, to explain the why to people,

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why we would want them to come along on this journey and implement

these policies and aspire to these goals.

We‟re working hard in Saskatchewan to be able to

finish the sentence. In Saskatchewan, there's a fellow named Gordon

Eshappie (ph). He's a real person. Gord is a graduate of the

Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies. Since 2007, our

government has increased funding to that school by 47 percent because

they get results. They connect graduates with jobs. Gord is from the

Carry the Kettle First Nation. He became a journeyman electrician two

years ago. He passed his Red Seal test with a mark of 85 percent. And

his motivation is your motivation. He's got dreams for himself and for

his family and he also has another goal. He wants to inspire other

young people. He says, and I quote, “When I go home, back to Carry

the Kettle, all the kids run up to me and ask me how I became an

electrician. I tell them how and that they can do it too.”

We were able to increase funding to SIIT because of a

growing economy. Gordon was able to engage in the economy and be

an example to those young First Nations kids because of that growing

economy. He's the end of the sentence. We need to talk about him.

In Saskatoon, there lives a woman by the name of Gail

Dickson. Gail lives in a very small house with her guide dog, Daisy.

She has some severe and multiple disabilities and simply cannot work,

not won't work, cannot work. For years she's gotten by on social

assistance, welfare. And a few years ago advocates for that group in our

province, that wonderful group in our province, came to us and said,

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“We'd like you to just change the name. Don‟t even put any more

funding in, but we'd like it to be income support and not welfare

because this is different for us,” and we made that change. We

introduced something called Saskatchewan Assured Income for the

Disabled. It‟s known as SAID. And then we were able to increase a

little bit anyway. Some of the support here in the SAID program now

provides Gail with a couple of hundred bucks extra a month. And she

said, “I had a big stupid grin on my face when I received that first

cheque.” When she was on social assistance, you see, a family member

told Gail that she was embarrassed of her for receiving welfare. And

Gail said to us she doesn't feel ashamed anymore. She said, “It‟s like I

earn my money now because of my disability. I didn't do anything

wrong. I shouldn't feel ashamed. SAID gives me respect and I can take

care of myself.” The reason we were able to provide those few extra

hundred dollars every month to Gail is because of a growing economy.

It‟s because we‟re able to successfully export food and energy and Gail

Dickson is the end of the sentence.

(Applause)

They're the end of the sentence, Gord and Gail, and

they're the reasons that we should be bold.

So in a world where the fastest growing economies

prize food security and energy security, given that we have a lot to offer

that world, given that we know then what the end of the sentence is, is

it un-Canadian to boldly claim that this country ought to be a food

superpower, an energy superpower, and then enact a plan to achieve

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those things? I think Gord and Gail might say, “It sounds pretty

Canadian to me.”

May God bless the Dominion of Canada. Thank you

very much.

(Applause)

(END OF RECORDING)