REGINA: Elwin Hermanson is the only party leader to sign a Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) pledge to enact taxpayer protection legislation should they form government.

The pledge, signed today at a CTF news conference, commits a Saskatchewan Party government to enacting legislation that would:

1) Require voter approval in a binding referendum for increasing existing taxes (with the exception of alcohol and tobacco taxes) and the implementation of new taxes.
2) Require a balanced budget based on summary accounting methods within their first mandate.
3) Establish a mandated provincial debt repayment schedule.
4) Contain 'pay for performance' salary penalties for the premier and cabinet ministers if spending targets are exceeded.

"If the Saskatchewan Party is elected and honours their signed commitment and passes taxpayer protection laws, the way Saskatchewan is governed will be changed for the better," said CTF Saskatchewan director David MacLean. "No longer will taxpayers have to go to the legislature on bent knee to justify why we deserve to keep more of our money. The onus will be on the government to justify taxes and expenditures to taxpayers."

NDP refuses to commit to taxpayers
" The NDP's refusal to sign the CTF pledge confirms what taxpayers have known all along - they abhor basic principles of democracy and refuse to be accountable," said MacLean. "What they're saying is they refuse to balance the budget, they refuse to have a debt repayment schedule, and they reserve the right to raise our taxes whenever they want. The door is still open for the NDP, hopefully they will have a change of heart."

Liberals oppose direct democracy
" Despite the fact that Ontario and British Columbia Liberals and Manitoba NDP support taxpayer protection legislation, the Saskatchewan Liberals refused to sign on the grounds that they don't support direct democracy," said MacLean. "It's regrettable that the NDP and the Liberals don't recognize that taxpayer protection is no longer a partisan issue."