Thank you Mr. Perrins for giving myself as Leader, and the members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan, the opportunity to express our views on the development of our rich uranium resources.

The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan, both in government and out, has had firmly held views and beliefs for a long period of time on this subject.  During this presentation, I will elaborate on those views and bring some historical perspective to back-up our presentation.

Our members have attended some of the open public meetings, spoken at them and read the material provided by the Uranium Development Partnership.

Mr. Perrins, you should be congratulated for guiding a public process handed down to you by the current provincial government.  You have led by example – it’s too bad the Saskatchewan Party government did not do the same.  It almost seems the government wanted the process to turn into a confrontational gong show between its supporters and the long-standing anti-nuke crowd which has deep roots in this province and which in the past, has successfully stopped various forms of development of our uranium resource.  In fact, it seems the whole process has devolved into arguments for or against a nuclear power plant somewhere in the province owned and operated by Bruce Power.

We in the Progressive Conservative Party believe the uranium-nuclear debate must be much broader in perspective and at the end of the day, should focus on the economics of this resource which is owned by the people of this province and should be developed so that the greatest amount of economic reward is spread among the people of this province.  Simply building a nuclear power plant will not accomplish this by itself and in fact, may simply result in high power bills for the average Saskatchewan family, farmers and smaller communities which already struggle with their bills.

The Progressive Conservative government of 1982-1991 saw the need to expand their uranium mandate that had been in place under previous NDP governments.  That focus was very narrow and restricted to mining with a large government presence in the industry headed by a crown corporation called SMDC.

Saskatchewan taxpayers could not afford to foot the entire bill to expand the uranium business.  The decision to create a new entity – a public company called Cameco to combine the assets of Eldorado Nuclear and SMDC was made to allow the uranium industry to grow and prosper combining the best of public ownership and the disciplines of the marketplace.

I, as Minister of Energy and Mines, had the privilege and responsibility to work with the President and Board of Directors of Cameco to make sure the first public offering on the TSE was successful.  It was, as was the second offering.  The people of Saskatchewan received nearly a billion dollars in shares – shares which were sold off by successive NDP governments primarily to bring about balanced budgets before elections – but monies returned to the people of Saskatchewan nevertheless.  This does not include the taxes and royalties generated by the uranium business on an annual basis or the employment created.  Saskatchewan has clearly been a winner on all accounts by the creation of Cameco, a Saskatchewan-based company now working around the world.

Finally, after 18 years, a Saskatchewan government has decided it is time to look at the future of the uranium industry and for the first time since 1991, talk about more than mining.  The PC Party thought this discussion should have taken place before the last election and attempted to organize a Leaders’ Debate so that all the Party Leaders could lay out their prospective positions before Saskatchewan voters went to the polls to elect a new government.  Unfortunately, that debate did not take place.  In fact, nuclear issues were all but ignored and shoved under the carpet of political double talk.

The PC Party’s position on uranium development has appeared in print and on our website at pcsask.ca under the title Sask Uranium – The Power of Change – in a comprehensive look at the industry.

We in the PC Party like to refer to it as an “Earth-to-Earth” policy because it covers the industry from exploration and mining, refining and manufacturing, power generation and environmental stewardship to reinturnment in eco-friendly storage facilities all to the benefit of Saskatchewan people.

The PC Party of Saskatchewan believes firstly, Saskatchewan must grow its economy and create long-term, well-paid employment to keep our sons and daughters living here, raising families here and being the taxpayers of the future in a growing province.  Uranium could be a large part of that puzzle.  The technology required in this endeavour means our universities and technological institutes will need to produce a constant stream of highly trained and motivated professionals and trades people to handle the challenges of this endeavour.  The returns to government through taxation and royalties where you can punch the cash register through the entire uranium cycle ensures that there is a continuing return to the people of Saskatchewan for health, education and the services we all wish to enjoy.

Secondly, this uranium cycle management would put Saskatchewan squarely at the forefront of combating climate change and nuclear proliferation.  We have all heard the predictions of the dire consequences to our world if we don’t do something about greenhouse gases and the pollution of our atmosphere caused by the over use of fossil fuels on this ever more populated planet.  The spectre of persistent famine, drought, drowned coastlines and the disappearance of dozens of animal species like our wonderful and magnificent polar bears means we have an obligation to our children, to our country and to our world to do things differently.  Nuclear power is one way we can dramatically begin to alter that balance back to a manageable level because of the zero emissions to the atmosphere of greenhouse gases.  New technologies in nuclear power plants around the world such as the “Pebble Bed Reactor” will ensure the growth of the industry in a safe environment.

Thirdly, by signing contracts with governments and companies around the world that would see Saskatchewan mined, refined and packaged uranium used to generate electrical power and then returned to a jurisdiction committed to nuclear non-proliferation, we can ensure that none of the by-products of nuclear power could be used by the nutcases of the world to commit nuclear blackmail or worse yet, use the technology to settle ideological or religious scores with the rest of us.

Saskatchewan people can harvest riches beyond our wildest dreams with this resource for hundreds of years to come.  We only need to use the common sense, innovation and strong work ethics which built this province to succeed.  We must accept our responsibility to the rest of Canada and the world when we profit from our resources by being part of the solution in a larger world drive for sustainable energy supplies and security.

The Uranium Development Partnership and its government backers have let the public of Saskatchewan down by not having a greater discussion on the economic potential for Saskatchewan taxpayers and the advances in nuclear technology which are occurring around the world.  No one explained what the potential price of a pound of Saskatchewan-produced uranium could be if that product were sold with the clear understanding that the product would be returned to Saskatchewan once its use in a nuclear power plant was finished.

We in the PC Party of Saskatchewan believe a significant premium could be extracted from the market place by offering what would be a one-of-a-kind contract to potential buyers of Saskatchewan uranium.  We believe, and my own experiences as Minister of Energy and Mines while touring most of the uranium mining and milling operations in northern Saskatchewan including a ride down in the two-man bucket to the original test mine at Cigar Lake tells me that Saskatchewan is ideally suited to be the site of a comprehensive nuclear storage site.

In fact, Saskatchewan can do very nicely economically, create thousands of jobs and be a world leader by simply mining and storing its own products.

In our view, the relationships that are necessary for constructing a comprehensive, eco-friendly storage facility should be a combined public-private endeavour so that all the social safety concerns and appropriate regulatory regimes are covered off.

First Nations and Metis people in northern Saskatchewan must have the opportunity for jobs, technological training and the ability to become shareholders.  A strong economic stake goes a long way to mitigating the old adage “not in my backyard”.

Because the Saskatchewan Party government has not led by example i.e. where was the Minister of Energy and Renewable Resources and now Minister of SaskPower been while the public meetings like the one in Saskatoon last week were taking place?  Would not that have been a good opportunity to go and listen, watch and learn about Saskatchewan people’s concerns and dreams?  You do not have to speak and offer an opinion to be leading, just show that you are at least interested in other people’s opinions.

In conclusion, the PC Party of Saskatchewan is extremely happy that the government has finally found the courage to discuss this very important issue with its citizens.  Hopefully, the results of this commission will lead to an open and honest appraisal of all the opportunities that await Saskatchewan’s uranium resource and that we as a people and a province, can truly be leaders and not fall back into our old ways of political gamesmanship and special interest politics.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

Respectfully submitted by

Rick Swenson, Leader

Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan