Scott Moe was in Estevan three times during the campaign for the Saskatchewan Party leadership. On Jan. 27 he was chosen as the new leader, and premier-designate.
On one of those trips to Estevan, he paid a visit to Ray Frehlick, owner of Prairie Mud and a long-time member of the Saskatchewan Party. Frehlick actually attended the convention in Saskatoon.
“I don’t know Scott that well,” Frehlick said on Jan.29. From what I gather, they say he’s a great guy.”
Asked about the mood at the convention, Frehlick said, “I thought it was awfully good. The place was jammed with people.”
However, he didn’t recognize anyone from the southeast oilpatch there.
Of Moe, Frehlick said, “I had him as second choice. I was kind of intrigued by Gord Wyant.”
Frehlick noted, “He must have been the second choice for a lot of people.”
The preferential ballot went five rounds before a winner was declared. Moe was behind Alanna Koch for the first three ballots before pulling ahead for the win. The first ballot placement was Alanna Koch, Scott Moe, Ken Cheveldayoff, Gord Wyant and Tina Beaudry-Mellor, in that order. The top four were all close, while Beaudry Mellor barely registered.
Frehlick said of those top four, “Wherever they came from, they had a lot of support.”
His support of Wyant was in part due to the fact Wyant was a former Saskatoon city councillor and a prominent lawyer. Frehlick feels a strong showing in Saskatoon will be important, as he expects the party will lose seats in Regina in the next election.
But did the crowd know who was going to win?
“I don’t think so,” Frehlick said. “I think Alanna Koch’s people thought she would win, hands down.”
But Frehlick pointed out that Moe had the support of over 20 MLAs behind him.
“He gave a good speech. He’s truly a Saskatchewan guy,” Frehlick said of Moe. He’s got to put his own brand. It’s not him, it’s the Saskatchewan people.”
During his fall tour, Estevan MLA Lori Carr, a Moe supporter, brought the candidate over to see Frehlick at his office. Frehlick said they talked about education, balanced budgets, and the provincial sales tax on life insurance. They also talked about oil at current prices being a lot better than US$39 per barrel.
Asked what the oilpatch needs from the new premier, Frehlick responded in a broader context. “The country needs something. It needs pipelines, a federal jurisdiction. That’s the biggest issue.”
As an example, he said the previous week he had inquired what the differential was on medium oil flowing through the Enbridge pipeline system, and found it was US$13 per barrel.
As for the federal carbon tax, the one Moe opposes, Frehlick said, “Certainly, it would have an impact.”
As a farmer as well as an oilman, Frehlick said with zero tillage agriculture, farmers are sequestering carbon all the time. But a carbon tax will increase the cost of diesel fuel, as well as inputs like seed treatment and fertilizer.
“In specific, he (Moe) needs to make sure we have a competitive field with other provinces, Manitoba and Alberta,” Frehlick concluded.
