The Saskatchewan Party was elected in 2007. What did it set out to achieve in the energy sector and how have you progressed so far?

We know that Saskatchewan has a very large resource in the oil industry. It has been developed, but very slowly. I think private enterprises were deterred from the province by the attitudes of previous governments and their lack of investment in appropriate infrastructure.

We knew we had to have fiscal and royalty regimes in place across the board that encourage development in our province. The oil and gas industry has told us repeatedly that it values certainty and stability in the regimes affecting it. In recent years, other provinces started making changes to their royalty structures, which discouraged development, and people in the industry started looking to invest elsewhere. They heard about our stable fiscal and royalty regimes and our promise to continue reducing taxes, and they came. We want to be as competitive a jurisdiction as we possibly can to encourage development. The oil and gas industry is growing rapidly as a result.

How important is the industry to the province and do the people of Saskatchewan recognize its importance?

The people of the province do understand its importance and they really encourage it. They have seen what it does in terms of creating opportunity, business activity and jobs, so they're very supportive. The industry is extremely important, generating 16.3% of our GDP, and it continues to grow rapidly. The sector generates an enormous amount of business activity both in and outside of the industry.

Also important is the entrepreneur class that is arising in Saskatchewan as a result of the investment. All of these things have created a sharp turnaround in Saskatchewan compared to what has been the norm in the province in the past four or five decades.

In 2010 the federal authorities turned down BHP's hostile takeover of Potash Corp. following heavy lobbying from your provincial government. What signal are you sending to foreign investors about large scale investment in the province?

Some would say it sent out a negative signal, but in fact, we've seen anything but a negative response from industry. There were several concerns surrounding that deal, including the belief that it would result in job losses and the negative effect it would have had on royalties to the province. So we could accept the deal but lose revenue, cut services to the people of Saskatchewan and run a deficit or raise taxes.

We decided against it and, despite that, have seen two significant investments in the potash arena and continued to witness record investment in the oil and gas industry. I think people around the world understood what we did and why we did it, so they aren't discouraged by it.

Can the province's labor market accommodate the industry's growth?

I think the companies are doing a good job at attracting a larger workforce. A lot of young people left Saskatchewan in the past and now they are more than happy to return home and take advantage of the opportunities that exist here. There's also a strong work ethic in the province and companies would prefer to hire locally because of it.

And can the province's civil service keep up with the volume of drilling applications?

We are struggling a little bit to keep up with the drilling applications right now, but we're willing to hire additional people if necessary to keep up. Within the government we're doing okay, but our goal is to actually shrink the size of the government by 15% while continuing to maintain productivity.

Globally, Canadian oil is increasingly referred to as "dirty." What is the attitude toward Saskatchewan when you promote the province on the international stage?

When we travel internationally we always take the criticisms of "dirty Canadian oil" head on by stating that we have been, and continue to be, a reliable supplier of safe, secure, and conflict-free oil. When you look at what's happening in the Middle East with oil, it's hard to be confident in its stability of supply. Simple things like rule of law are pretty important to people and knowing that if they invest here, their property isn't going to be taken from them.

Stability from an energy-producing jurisdiction like Saskatchewan is obviously something that the industry values. There are still concerns about the environmental footprint around oil sands, but when the oil sands do develop in Saskatchewan, they will be a different resource than those in other provinces and so they will be developed differently.

What is your message to investors looking to put their money in Saskatchewan?

We are a province that will continue to offer stability in royalty regimes, fiscal regimes and a low tax structure. When making an investment in Saskatchewan, the long-term picture is fairly predictable with no sudden changes. As a result, we will continue to be a great place to do business with healthy competition. M

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