Premier Calvert is calling me a liar on his NDP website. Now I could do one of two things. I could get into a name calling exercise with the premier (not my style) or I could lay out the facts and let people decide for themselves on the issue.

I had written a letter on equalization pointing out that the federal NDP had “studiously avoided the issue”. I said this because the federal NDP have not come out in support of the Conservative government’s position on equalization which is: non-renewable natural resources must not be counted as part of equalization.

The premier’s response was to post a handful of quotes on the issue by the federal NDP on equalization, and call me a liar. Naturally, being interested in their response I read their rebuttal and found out that the NDP proved my point for me.

Instead of clearly stating their position, the NDP fudged in all of their statements. They talked about fairness for Saskatchewan, fairness for non-renewable natural resources, and other general platitudes. Not in one of the quotes on the NDP site, did the federal NDP commit to what both I and Stephen Harper have pledged: 100% removal of non-renewable natural resources. The federal NDP did not do what Lorne Calvert asked; instead they studiously avoided the issue.

The NDP do not want to support the removal of non-renewable resources, because they want to cater to Gary Doer’s NDP in Manitoba. They don’t want to support the Conservatives. They want to be able to say one thing in Manitoba and another thing in Saskatchewan.

Now I understand the premier has spent wildly in the past six years, (40% rise in spending over the last six years according to one set of numbers I saw) and has next to nothing to show for his efforts. But his personal and vicious attacks are not based on facts; they are based on rumors and un-sourced leaks to the press.

I stand by what the Conservatives said on equalization. 1. Non-renewable resources will not be included in the formula, 2. The formula will be based on a 10 province average. 3. The final result will not disadvantage any province from the current formula.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament, and I welcome your feedback. Write or call my offices.