"The Saskatchewan NDP's meeting this weekend is about the future and that's been one of our key themes - sustainable development, our responsibility to future generations - so it dovetails nicely with the debates that have been going on recently," Mulcair told reporters after a 30-minute speech to delegates.
He began his address joking about learning to pronounce "Saskatchewan" before launching into a wideranging discussion with sustainable development as a clear central theme.
Though he didn't mention Wall, who has been a vocal critic, Mulcair said the Conservatives and the Saskatchewan Party are "half a dozen of one, six of the other" and said his adversaries on the development issue "aren't going to shut me down.
"People understand what we've been saying," he said. "Some others have tried to make it into something different, but we've been saying the same thing all along. We have to take care of our responsibilities to future generations.
The way to do that is to make sure that we look at the economic, the ecological and the social aspects of every problem ... something the Conservatives don't believe in and have not been doing."
Wall and western premiers criticized Mulcair last month when Mulcair said bitumen exports from the oilsands boost the Canadian dollar, thereby hurting Canadian manufacturers and causing job losses. Wall said Mulcair's facts were wrong and called the comments "divisive," while Mulcair said the premiers were Prime Minister Stephen Harper's "messengers."
Mulcair promised delegates Friday that the federal NDP will win a Saskatchewan seat in the next election and told reporters he didn't think criticism of him in the province would make that more challenging.
"I know that the vast majority of people in Saskatchewan believe that polluters should pay," he said. "It's not sustainable development to let people use the air, the soil and the water as an unlimited dumping ground that they don't pay for. You have to include those costs whenever you have any form of production, whether it's a factory or a natural resource ... It's a false debate to oppose economy and environment; the two go hand in hand.
"The basic question is do we allow companies now to receive subsidies to develop natural resources, especially extractive industries, without assuming the cost in this generation. We think that's wrong," he added, reiterating that a Canadian dollar inflated due to resource development has "caused the hollowing out of the manufacturing sector."
Mulcair also commented on the future of the provincial NDP, which, unlike its federal counterpart, has seen decreasing support in recent elections. A leadership race set to begin in September and conclude in 2013 should be of interest, he said.
"One of the things that will be exciting is the leadership race coming up," he said. "Mr. (John) Nilson's been doing a fabulous job as interim leader, but people will be putting their names in the hat. We're going to be seeing an exciting, lively race and a debate of ideas, the same type of thing we went through federally over the past year.
"It's a trying experience, but I know what's going to happen. A lot of ideas will be on the table. We see a lot of ideas being put forward at this weekend's convention so it's a type of thing that will allow the party better to define itself as we head into the next election," Mulcair continued.
Original Article
Source: the star phoenix
Author: Joe Couture
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