Surprise, surprise! The NDP has launched another advertising campaign and you, dear taxpayer, are paying for it. Not only are you paying for it, but you're also the target audience. The government wants you to feel good about the province, and to keep on doing what you are doing - living here and electing NDP governments.

If you are getting the feeling you've seen this movie before, it's because you have. Four years ago, the government embarked on an eerily similar campaign. The "Our Future is Wide Open" stunt was originally pegged to cost $2 million. The alleged "target audience" of Saskatchewan expatriates who fled in droves for jobs in other provinces didn't get the message.

Two-thirds of the budget was spent right here in Saskatchewan, but that was only the beginning. Within a year, the province had spent nearly $6 million with no end in sight. After a long dispute with the Department of Industry and Resources which involved the Information Commissioner, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation successfully proved the government had lied to the public about the true cost of the campaign and how it would be paid for. It turned out the province had budgeted nearly $12 million for the thinly-veiled re-election campaign with crown corporations picking up part of the tab.

Unfortunately, that revelation only came to light after the 2003 provincial election.

This year's campaign has striking similarities. Again, the province plans to spend the lion's share of the budget in Saskatchewan to convince young people to stay here.

But aren't they preaching to the choir

A recent survey of youth in Saskatchewan, paid for by the province, shows that over 75 per cent intend to stay here, as long as they can find good jobs. Another survey found more than half of respondents gave a high or very high rating for the quality of Saskatchewan life. Less than four per cent gave the province low marks.

Ask any Saskatchewan university student whether he or she plans on staying in Saskatchewan and you'll likely hear the refrain "I'd like to but-."

The problem is, and has always been, a lack of good opportunities. We don't have the corporate head offices or the industrial base to attract the new generation of entrepreneurs. We lack that base because of decades of economic neglect on the part of successive provincial governments. For decades, Saskatchewan had some of the highest personal and business taxes on the continent. While the government succumbed to pressure in recent years and have made the right changes, it will take years to feel the impact.

To anyone with an ounce of common sense, this campaign is utter nonsense. There is no point in trying to convince people who already want to stay here to want to stay here a little more. And as for contemplating a move, an advertising campaign is no substitute for a job.

The government knows this, and they don't care. To them, advertising works. After Finance Minister Andrew Thomson announced business tax relief in the 2006 budget, taxpayers had to endure ads featuring Thomson congratulating himself for letting us keep more of our hard-earned money.

The Saskatchewan! campaign is more of the same. Every time you see those ads on television remember who is paying for them because they won't do the province any good. They are designed to improve the governing party's electoral fortunes.