Heading to the polls: Premier uses Melfort event as dry run for provincial election call
by Tavis Newman

Romanow’s election announcement in Saskatoon Thursday was highly reminiscent of the speech he delivered in front of party faithful at the Melfort Wildlife Federation Park and Shooting Range.

In fact, he hinted to the 300 NDP supporters in attendance at Melfort that an election was in the near future.

“In a short little while... all of the members of the New Democratic Party team will be going back to the people of Saskatchewan, asking for their support in the upcoming provincial election,” Romanow said.

He also foreshadowed the election call during an interview after his speech.

“And election obviously is sooner than later in the making because the term runs out in June of 2000,” Romanow said. “I suspect in the next few days or so or less, I’ll be making up my mind.”

His stop in Melfort was one of many campaign-type visits Romanow has made to communities in the past several weeks. Other stops on the tour included Wynyard, Harris and Nipawin.

This marks the first time a provincial election has ever been held in September in Saskatchewan. Normally elections are held in either June or October with September being avoided because it conflicts with harvest.

The September call is something Romanow is being criticized for by his opponents: Jim Melenchuk, leader of the Liberal Party, and Elwin Hermanson, leader of the Saskatchewan Party.

“To call an election in September when we have a farm crisis is a slap in the face to the farm families of Saskatchewan,” Melenchuk said following Thursday’s announcement.

“He (Romanow) delayed a June election because of a nursing crisis, but he wouldn’t delay a September election because of a farm crisis.”

Hermanson had similar concerns about the Sept. 16 election date.

“It was not appropriate for the premier to call an election during a very difficult harvest time, one of the most difficult harvests that the province has ever seen,” he said.

“He should’ve waited until the harvest was completed. That would’ve been a late October election.”

Romanow defended his decision, saying that hopefully one-third of farmers whose crops are further developed will be finished harvest by election day, and the other two-thirds will be harvesting later.

“I have no doubt that they (farmers) will take part, and I want them to take part,” he said.

While in Melfort, the premier said he didn’t expect too much difficulty for farmers taking part in the election, though he admitted the timing could be better.

“It is not the best of times necessarily, but I really think given today’s technology that is available, that farmers and farm communities can take part in the election very easily,” Romanow said.

He also noted that Gary Filmon recently announced a September election for Manitoba, which is also an agriculture-based province.

“The point is if it’s OK for Manitoba, it should be OK for us,” he said.

Romanow said the election would be an important one, because it would produce the province’s first government for the new millennium and beyond.

Similar to his election announcement in Saskatoon, Romanow explained in Melfort that the NDP would have a party platform stressing jobs, lower personal taxes, education, health care, economic growth, safety from crime and fiscal responsibility.