Seasons of prosperity are precious opportunities not to be wasted. As our calendars turn to a new year, Saskatchewan is enjoying one of them. Grain and oil prices are high; people are flocking to the province in numbers not seen in ages; and our province is more optimistic than ever. But now that we've stopped being 'next year's' province, we must shed another monkey off our backs: our provincial debt.

The last fiscal update placed our provincial debt at $10.3 billion--that's $10,300 hanging on every man, woman, and child, including the New Year's baby. In fiscal 2007-08, we will spend an estimated $560 million -- or $1.53 million per day - servicing our debt.

The time is ripe to shed this burden for good. Fortunately, our new government has already taken some steps in this direction. The recently introduced Saskatchewan Growth and Financial Security Act will dedicate half of all future surpluses to debt reduction and limit growth of our civil service to the same rate as the province's overall population. In addition, the province will make an additional payment of $250 million against the debt in its first year.

However, Saskatchewan could and should go even farther. In the mid 90's, Alberta dedicated 75 percent of its surpluses to debt repayment, and accompanied strict balanced budget requirements. Alas, the Saskatchewan Party government has decided to rebrand the fiscal stabilization fund and enable it to "balance" the budget, meaning that some years the province could still spend more money than we take in. If we can't balance the budget in the good times, what will happen in the bad

To be sure, we'll hear familiar refrains in the months to come. Health care pressures soar as baby boomers retire and annual drug costs rise at an alarming rate. Compliance with greenhouse gas emission reductions will not be cheap anyway you slice it. And then of course infrastructure is always in need of upgrade and expansion, especially at the municipal level. Finally, booming economies make it difficult for politicians which crave approval to refuse the endless stream of demands from various special interests.

These are the reasons that it's so important to pay off debt now. Though the present is certain, the future is not. Commodity and resource revenues fluctuate. Stocks rise and fall. Natural disasters or terrorism would negatively impact our economy in an instant. Paying off debt gives government more options and taxpayers the assurance that dollars aren't being flushed down the proverbial toilet for nothing other than interest payments that provide no services whatsoever. Legislating debt repayment gives politicians a welcome hammer that 'ties their hands' when it comes to special interest groups spending demands.

Let 2008 mark the year that the provincial government seized the moment to tackle our debt. By the time a few more calendars have been tossed out, we'll all be glad they did!