PREMIER CALVERT ENCOURAGED BY PRIME MINISTER'S COMMITMENT TO FUTURE TALKS

Premier Lorne Calvert's push for a Saskatchewan Accord on energy revenues will move forward now that Prime Minister Paul Martin has committed to further talks on the issue.

Calvert met with Martin and federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale Wednesday evening in Regina at the conclusion of Martin's two-day visit to Saskatchewan.

"I am pleased to report that the Prime Minister has agreed to a more substantive discussion," Calvert said.

Provincial and federal officials will begin laying the groundwork for future talks. Calvert believes the Prime Minister's trip to Saskatchewan allowed him to gain a deeper appreciation for the enormous potential of Saskatchewan's energy resources, and how removing barriers to developing that resource would benefit all of Canada.

Earlier this year, Martin signed a deal with the governments of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador that guarantees those provinces 100 per cent of their energy revenue by excluding that revenue from the equalization formula.

In Saskatchewan, there are an estimated 30 billion barrels of heavy oil in the ground that are not being recovered because it is cost-prohibitive as a result of energy revenue clawbacks and the limits of current technology.

"The discussions that we will have will reflect in some ways the uniqueness of Saskatchewan's oil resource, which is a trillion dollars in the ground that we are leaving behind, that has some exceptional technologies necessary and some exceptional costs to get that resource out," Calvert said.

Calvert said his meeting with the Prime Minister offered a good opportunity to tell Martin that Saskatchewan deserves the same treatment as Atlantic Canada.

"We had what I thought was a good discussion," Calvert said. "I was able to describe Saskatchewan's position in terms of our energy resources, our desire to develop those resources, and how crucial it is to have an energy accord that reflects some of the principles now reflected in the Atlantic Accord."

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Tyler McMurchy Media Services Regina Phone: (306) 787-5780