- Brad Wall
Infobox Prime Minister
honorific-prefix =The Honourable
name = Bradley John Wall
honorific-suffix = MLA
caption =
office1 = 14thPremier of Saskatchewan
term_start1 =November 21 ,2007
term_end1 =
predecessor1 =Lorne Calvert
successor1 =
office2 = MLA for Swift Current
term_start2 = 1999
term_end2 =
predecessor2 = John Wall (NDP)
successor2 = incumbent
office3 = Leader of the Opposition
term_start3 = 2004
term_end3 =November 20 ,2007
predecessor3 =Elwin Hermanson
successor3 =Lorne Calvert
party =Saskatchewan Party
birth_date = birth date and age|1965|11|24
birth_place =Swift Current, Saskatchewan
death_date =
death_place =
party =Saskatchewan Party
spouse = Tami Kildaw
religion = |Bradley John Wall MLA (born
November 24 ,1965 inSwift Current, Saskatchewan ) is a Canadianpolitician , leader of theSaskatchewan Party , and the current premier ofSaskatchewan as ofNovember 21 ,2007 .Wall was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as the
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Swift Current in 1999, and re-elected in 2003. He became leader of the Official OppositionSaskatchewan Party on March 15, 2004. He replacedElwin Hermanson , who resigned after leading the party to defeat in the 2003 provincial election.In the 2007 election, Wall led the Saskatchewan Party to a majority government in Saskatchewan with around 50% of the overall vote and 38 of the 58 seats in the legislature.
Political career
Wall's political roots are in the
Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan , working as a ministerial assistant toGraham Taylor , Minister of Public Participation, Tourism, Small Business, Co-operatives and Health, andJohn Gerich , Associate Minister of Economic Development. Wall ran unsuccessfully for the Progressive Conservative nomination for Swift Current in April, 1991.Prior to his election, Wall was the Director of Business Development for the City of Swift Current. In 1999, the Saskatchewan Economic Developers Association (SEDA) presented him with the 1998 Economic Developer of the Year Award. He has also sat on a number of boards including being a founding member of the Southwest Centre for Entrepreneurial Development. Wall also started his own business, The Last Stand Adventure Company.
After becoming Leader of the Saskatchewan Party, Wall committed to a review of Saskatchewan Party policies. This policy review process reached its culmination at the Saskatchewan Party's annual convention in February 2005 and resulted in a complete revamping of policy and the replacement of old resolutions, including a resolution that called for "boot camps" for young offenders. New policy resolutions included calling for treatment for crystal methamphetamine addicts, a patient-first review of the health care system, the development of a comprehensive plan to recruit and retain health care professionals, the development an integrated addictions strategy for young offenders who are incarcerated, a comprehensive review of the justice system to restore trust and confidence in the system, the establishment of a Provincial Youth Justice Board to address youth crime, rehabilitation and restitution measures, support for victims of crime, the establishment of a University Research Chair in Occupational Health and Safety, and a review of the Workers' Compensation Board. [cite web
url=http://www.saskparty.com/index.cfm?page=269
title=2005 Saskatchewan Policy guide
year=2005
publisher=Saskatchewan Party
accessdate=2007-08-07]In September 2004, Brad Wall released "The Promise of Saskatchewan: A New Vision for Saskatchewan's Economy" [cite web
url=http://www.skcaucus.com/assets/pdf/The%20Promise%20of%20Saskatchewan.pdf
format=pdf
title=The Promise of Saskatchewan: A New Vision for Saskatchewan's Economy
author=Brad Wall
month=September
year=2004
accessdate=2007-08-07] , a plan to grow the province's economy. In the fall of 2006, Wall released a policy paper on behalf of the Saskatchewan Party caucus, "Getting Saskatchewan Back on Track: Addressing Saskatchewan's Labour Shortage."cite web
url=http://www.saskparty.com/newsroom.html?page=6&news_action=details&news_id=B7B116BE-802F-1011-7B23107A44075BF9
title=Current issues & news from the legislature
publisher=Saskatchewan Party
accessdate=2007-08-07]Controversy
Wall's leadership style has generally been received as popular within the Saskatchewan Party caucus. However, his leadership was called into question at the end of January, 2006 when MLA
Brenda Bakken-Lackey resigned from the party. Bakken-Lackey cited unspecified frustrations within the Saskatchewan Party caucus as being among her reasons for resigning, although she declined to elaborate for the media. [cite web
url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2006/01/31/weyburn-seat060131.html
title=Byelection to be called in Weyburn-Big Muddy
date=January 31 ,2006
publisher=CBC News
accessdate=2007-08-07] This led to a by-election inWeyburn-Big Muddy , which was won by the Saskatchewan Party's former caucus researcher,Dustin Duncan . At the party's 2007 annual convention, Wall received the support of 98 per cent of convention delegates for his leadership.In recent times, he has been more willing to discuss his employment under the
Grant Devine government despite that period of time being removed from his official Saskatchewan Party biography. In the Saskatchewan Legislature's spring 2006 session, NDP MLAs revealed that Wall had worked in Gerich's office at the time when $15,000 worth of alcohol [Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Jan 17th, 1992] was allocated to the Minister's office. Wall admitted to the media of his partaking in the alcohol and knowing it was "wrong" [Brad Wall on CBC, March 23rd, 2006] and stated he considered it "an asset" to have learned from the government's activities.On
April 3 ,2008 , the provincial NDP released a video tape filmed during the 1991 Saskatchewan general election on the day of the leaders debate.cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/columnists/story.html?id=ffc697e3-6eea-4899-9f99-df3539e19d39|title=Tasteless Tape Sparks Tacky Outrage|publisher=Saskatoon Star Phoenix|author=John Gormley|date=April 4 ,2008 |accessdate=2008-04-04] The video showed Conservative MPTom Lukiwski makinghomophobic remarks.cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080403/tape_sask_080403/20080403?hub=TopStories&s_name= |title=Tory MP apologizes for anti-gay comments |publisher=CTV News|accessdate=2008-04-04] Wall was also on the video using an exaggerated Ukrainian accent, making derogatory statements about former NDP PremierRoy Romanow . [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2008/04/03/lukiwski-video.html Saskatchewan MP apologizes over anti-gay slur] fromCBC News ] [http://www.mysask.com/portal/site/pc-saskatchewan/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.0c847c8a90c8ec1588787f4480315ae8/?javax.portlet.tpst=4545cf302f6c148fa37d93af60315ae8_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_4545cf302f6c148fa37d93af60315ae8_viewID=article&javax.portlet.prp_4545cf302f6c148fa37d93af60315ae8_storyID=6756&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=token&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=token Labour livid over comments on controversial tape] ] There were also comments made about then Liberal Party leader and future Lieutenant GovernorLynda Haverstock , which centred on her gender. Wall apologized later that day for his comments.ee also
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Politics of Saskatchewan References
External links
* [http://www.skcaucus.com/brad_wall_swift_current.html Message from Brad Wall, Leader of the Saskatchewan Party]
* [http://www.skcaucus.com/brad_wall_bio.html Biography of Brad Wall, Leader of the Saskatchewan Party]
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