The Globe and Mail
Canadian Press / Response from Tom Adams
November 12, 2005

Regina: Saskatchewan is moving forward with a pointed advertising campaign it hopes will shake an energy accord loose from a federal government that could be at the polls in a matter of months.

Premier Lorne Calvert said this week he was outraged that his province and Ottawa still have not reached an energy deal when similar arrangements were signed with Newfoundland and Nova Scotia months ago.

But he has always said he won’t advocate the strategy Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams used this year when he ordered Canadian flags taken down from provincial buildings.

Instead, the Saskatchewan Premier is asking residents to “raise a flag” in support of his cause.

"My goal is to well-acquaint the people of Saskatchewan with this issue, with the lack of action that has occurred in Ottawa to bring this to completion," Mr. Calvert said yesterday. "Ultimately the goal is to get a good Saskatchewan energy accord.

"We are not here wanting in any way to divorce ourselves from the nation or the future of this great nation, but . . . we want to be a strong, strong player within Canada."

Mr. Calvert’s strategy is more figurative than literal, designed to engage the "silent supporter," one provincial official said.

But there are indeed flags ─ of sorts. There are no cloth varieties, but paper copies can be downloaded and printed from a website. The design is simple. It features the words "Saskatchewan Energy Accord" in white scrawled across a red backing.

But at the heart of the campaign is a media blitz ─ print, radio and television ads that will begin in the coming days.

Aimed squarely at Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale and Prime Minister Paul Martin, the campaign has a decided bite.

The first batch will run in newspapers and will feature a man’s hand with his fingers in the shape of an O under the heading, "A Big Fat Zero!"

"I would say the campaign has an edge," Mr. Calvert conceded. "It will indicate that we are not pleased . . . with the circumstance where we have arrived to."

News of the campaign has angered Mr. Goodale, the lone Liberal MP from Saskatchewan.

"I think it’s unfortunate in two ways. First of all, it is factually inaccurate and secondly it is intensely personal," the Finance Minister said yesterday.

"They’ve obviously decided that this is going to be a politically nasty campaign and that it is going to be directed squarely at me as an individual."

Response from Tom Adams

Saskatchewan’s government is advertising its demand for more generous transfer payments from the federal government that would allow Saskatchewan to keep more revenue from the oil and gas sector (Saskatchewan government advertisement, November 16, "Saskatchewan ads prod Ottawa on energy," November 12).

Meanwhile, Saskatchewan’s government is promoting energy waste by subsidizing natural gas prices. During 2001-2003, provincial subsidies amounted to $430 per customer. Two weeks ago, the government committed to a further $400 per customer subsidy. The "big fat zero" Saskatchewan’s government claims the federal government is providing would more aptly describe the energy efficiency gains Saskatchewan will achieve by encouraging fossil fuel waste.

Tom Adams, executive director, Energy Probe