What if the premier holds a dinner and the guest of honor doesn't show up?
That's exactly what happened last Thursday night in Lloydminster as heavy fog at the airport forced Premier Brad Wall's plane to turn back to Regina, putting a crimp into the second-annual Northwest Premier's Dinner for the Saskatchewan Party.
It fell on the shoulders of local Lloydminster MLA and cabinet minister Tim McMillan to give a hastily prepared address in place of the premier. McMillan, minister in charge of the Crown Investments Corporation, Information Technology, Information Corporations, SGI, and most recently Liquor and Gaming, had been scheduled to introduce the premier that evening.
Instead, Cut Knife-Turtleford MLA Michael Chisholm was called into action at the last minute to introduce McMillan before the throng of Saskatchewan Party supporters and elected officials in attendance. Among those in the audience were mayors and councillors from across the region, including from the City of North Battleford and the Town of Battleford.
"Maybe we could, without him, have a premier's roast," McMillan jokingly suggested as an alternative title for the premier's dinner in his opening remarks.
Some of the other ministers could go up to the podium and relay stories, he suggested. But then, McMillan realized, the premier decides who sits at the cabinet table, so McMillan said he rethought that whole idea.
As McMillan pointed out in his speech, one reason Wall missed his own dinner was because he had been forced to stay late in Regina to deal with the fast-moving developments in the BHP Billiton hostile takeover bid for PotashCorp.
A rare emergency debate was held in the legislature earlier that day. An all-party resolution opposing the BHP Billiton takeover was passed unanimously in the legislature that afternoon, with Sask. Party and NDP MLAs all calling for the federal government to block the takeover bid under the Investment Canada Act. Wall had planned to fly to Ottawa Friday to step up his lobbying efforts with Industry Minister Tony Clement. Clement had a Nov. 3 deadline to make a decision on whether BHP's $38.6 billion bid was a "net benefit" to Canadians under the rules in place.
As McMillan told the audience at the dinner, the debate in the legislature forced a change in Wall's original plan to drive up from Regina to the dinner in Lloydminster.
The plan had been to leave question period a couple of hours early, but then the emergency debate came up, keeping the premier and the MLAs in the legislature past 1 p.m.
Because the activity in the legislature went on longer than expected, planes were booked instead for the premier and several other Northwest MLAs in the legislature.
But the flight that carried Wall and municipal affairs minister Jeremy Harrison of Meadow Lake ran into the thick fog that engulfed the Lloydminster airport. McMillan said the situation was no better at the nearby airports in North Battleford or across the border in Alberta.
After getting as close as 270 feet to the ground, McMillan said, the pilot finally gave up and the plane turned back to Regina, arriving there safely later that evening.
In introducing McMillan, Chisholm jokingly passed on responsibility for what happened to Alberta, pointing out the airport was on the Alberta side of the border. Chisholm also pointed out that weather is usually "a federal responsibility."
Some of the MLAs were able to make it. McMillan said he, Chisholm and Rosthern-Shellbrook MLA Denis Allchurch took the early flight to arrive for the event in Lloydminster just in time before the fog hit.
"If we hadn't made it in, I don't know who would be giving the speech tonight," McMillan said to the crowd.
Even without the premier, the show went on, and it fell on McMillan to deliver the keynote speech to the packed convention centre.
Not surprisingly, the potash situation ended up being the main focus of his address. The Lloydminster MLA outlined the fine line the government had to take in promoting an open-for-business "brand" for Saskatchewan while opposing this deal.
"For us to say no to this deal - ideologically, we're in favour of growth," McMillan said, "but practically it cannot come as an expense to the people of Saskatchewan."
He said the party is not against growth and investment - it's just this particular deal "doesn't work" for the people of Saskatchewan. McMillan noted during the speech the deal could result in a $3 billion hole in terms of lost revenues to provincial coffers.
In speaking to reporters McMillan took note of the extraordinary situation the legislature had to deal with.
"I think it's unprecedented in Saskatchewan," McMillan said. "This is the biggest deal in Canadian history. It's a $40 billion deal, some of the biggest companies in the world are involved."
"It means a lot on our balance sheets. Potash is a major revenue driver, it's a major employer in Saskatchewan. It's something we need to get right, we can't falter."
As for the premier, a message was relayed that Wall would be back in Lloydminster in the spring of 2011, where he promised to try again attempt to deliver his speech to the community.
In spite of what happened, partisans at the dinner made the best of the situation and officials said they were delighted at the strong turnout of people the event attracted.
"The atmosphere was great," said Michael Chisholm, noting the sell out crowd for the dinner.
There was disappointment the premier couldn't arrive, but "I think Tim really did a great job in picking up the ball in his home constituency," Chisholm said.
The annual premier's dinner traditionally rotates around the Northwest, with North Battleford the location for the dinner last year. Meadow Lake is scheduled to be the next venue.
