Alan Kerpan — who served in opposition with the Saskatchewan Party and was also a Reform MP — and veteran SP MLA Lyle Stewart (Thunder Creek) were tapped by Moe to lead closed-door meetings across the province this per month. “The prime minister has been talking about some kind of independence from Ottawa for quite some time in terms of the economy,” Kerpan told CBC’s Morning Edition host Ted Deller on Monday. Kerpan said he and Moe have been meeting for the past few months and now he is being asked to “try to gauge the opinion and feelings of the people who live in our province.” He says that after a few meetings a theme emerges. “People are saying be more like Quebec – in other words, take back the powers in our province that were originally granted to our province under the Constitution. “I think so [Quebec’s] The estrangement from Ottawa was rather cultural. Ours is probably more economical, although culture enters into it as well.” In 2021-2022, $3.46 billion, or 19.1 percent of Saskatchewan’s total revenue, came through transfers from the federal government. Kerpan said he’s “not looking for Confederation to really change,” but said Saskatchewan and all the other provinces “could all be a nation within a nation.” A national survey released in April asked whether respondents wanted their provinces to do more to develop an identity separate from Canada. In Saskatchewan, 40 per cent said they liked the status quo and 24 per cent said they wanted the province to do more to diversify. Kerpan says he does not support a secession movement. “I’m not interested in independence from Confederation, but I’m certainly very interested in some kind of independence from Ottawa,” he said. Kerpan hosted a number of town hall meetings in 2019organized by Wexit Saskatchewan that asked: “Can federation be fixed?” At the time Kerpan said: “I’d rather take a really hard look at a western, independent Saskatchewan than suffer another four years [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau”.
Kerpan looks at energy, environmental policies
When asked about specific areas of concern, Kerpan pointed to pipeline projects, bills C-48 and C-69 and the federal government’s carbon pricing system. “We don’t have new pipelines to get our oil and gas to markets,” he said. “That was a big issue.” During the interview, Deller mentioned the federal government’s $4.5 billion purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline project in 2018. “We’ll see how this all works out,” Deller said. “And I’m still not convinced that this will be the end of it,” Kerpan replied. Kerpan pointed to Bill C-69, passed in 2019, which allows the federal government to consider the impacts of new resource projects on issues such as climate change, and Bill C-48, also passed in 2019, which prohibits tankers to carry more than 12,500 metric tons of oil from a berth along the north coast of British Columbia. Kerpan says this is a problem. Each province should have “control over its natural resources, including their marketing.” On the federal government’s carbon tax, which was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court in March 2021, Kerpan said the tax, combined with new clean fuel regulations, are “very, very financially damaging to farmers ». Moe has raised each of the issues Kerpan mentioned and has repeatedly stated that he is not interested in an independent Saskatchewan. In 2020, he appointed Stewart as legislative secretary for provincial self-government. In November 2021, Moe said he wanted Saskatchewan to become a “Nation within a nation.” In the government’s 2021 throne speech, he said he wanted to “build a stronger, more independent Saskatchewan within Confederation.” Lyle Stewart, left, the Legislative Secretary for Provincial Self-Government, will join Alan Kerpan in hosting a series of meetings on Provincial Self-Government. (CBC News) At one of the first internal meetings, Kerpan said he “loved” the idea one attendee suggested that Saskatchewan collect its own income tax. Asked how representative the meetings that are not open to the public would be, Kerpan said those interested should contact their MLA: “I’m sure no one is going to be turned away.” Kerpan said his tour is “essentially the same thing” as the current tour of the province being done by new NDP Leader Carla Beck.
Affordability is more pressing than autonomy: Beck
On Monday, Opposition Leader Carla Beck said the government was focusing on autonomy when it should be tackling inflation and the added cost of living. Beck says affordability, education and health care are the top issues on people’s minds in the province. It’s “fair to say there’s frustration with the federal government,” Beck said, but he said holding closed-door meetings that could shape public policy is “problematic.” “I’m not sure how fanning the flames of separatism and growing division is helping to address the things that people in Saskatchewan need to be addressed by all levels of government,” she said. If this is a government priority, he says, it should allow the meetings to be open to the public and should publish the findings. Beck said the meetings at this point are not “representative.”
Kerpanos expenses covered
The government parliamentary committee office covers Kerpan’s expenses. “No government funds from a particular MLA’s constituency will be used for his expenses,” said John Saltashuk, chief of staff at the government’s office. Saltasuk said Kerpan is a former MLA who has “remained committed and interested in what Saskatchewan can achieve and what obstacles there are to that success.” “If anyone is interested in participating in these particular meetings, they can certainly get in touch. You will see more public events in the coming weeks from our MPs in other forms.” LISTEN | Former MLA Allan Kerpan on his meetings on provincial autonomy: The Morning Edition – Sask12:05Government of Sask. holding a series of meetings to talk about provincial “autonomy” Do you want Saskatchewan to have more of a say in how we govern Canada? Maybe you think we should be more like Quebec in confederation? Our provincial government does, and is going to talk to people about this idea — privately — this summer.
