The government had a good back-swing in introducing their health plan, but it remains to be seen if they will follow through with their recommendations, says the newly-elected leader of the provincial Liberal party, who is preparing for the next provincial election.

David Karwacki made the comments during a brief stop in Weyburn on Wednesday afternoon, and he also spoke about the mid-term financial report by the province, and the efforts he has begun to build up a team for the next election.

On the new health plan, announced as the government's response to the Fyke Commission on Health Care, Karwacki said there are some good things in it, but other issues were not addressed.

"I think the health care plan the government has put forward has some good recommendations. They're saying they are going to implement some cost-saving measures. They have a great back-swing, but let's see some follow-through," he said.

One of the issues not dealt with in the plan is the retention of specialists and of health care professionals in Saskatchewan, which has been a problem for a number of health districts, he said.

"One other area I really question, is the plan sustainable? They introduced a number of new spending initiatives and continue to say they're staying within budget. They're running a deficit and playing a shell game," said Karwacki.

The government also recently released their mid-term financial report, and the Liberal leader reiterated that the NDP is playing a "shell game" with the figures, using the Fiscal Stabilization Fund or "rainy day" fund.

"There is no fund. This was supposed to be set aside, and the people of Saskatchewan have been somewhat misled. Really it's about the ability to run up your credit card; that's essentially what this government has done," he said. "They're playing this clever shell game. It's difficult for the Saskatchewan people to know where we're really at."

He partially agreed with the Saskatchewan Party's view that the government needs to have a tighter control of what the Crown corporations are doing, but he doesn't agree with their view that the Crowns should be sold off. He also thinks the Crowns shouldn't be restricted to only doing business in Saskatchewan, and that the corporations can be a good way to export our expertise around the world.

Meanwhile, since his election as leader of the Liberals, Karwacki had to deal with the status of former leader Dr. Jim Melenchuk and Ron Osika, both of whom said they wanted to retain their cabinet seats in the NDP coalition government. In the end, both agreed to sit as independent MLAs and have remained in cabinet, with the Liberal party to now sit in opposition, with fellow leadership candidate Jack Hillson to sit as the lone Liberal in the Legislature.

Karwacki is also preparing the party for the next provincial election, and will be looking at running for a seat some time in the new year.

"My first objective is to go out and build a great team of people that the people of Saskatchewan can judge if we can govern this province. I've been working very hard to do that in the last few months, and making some contacts in that regard. I believe the people are not particularly happy with any of the options out there right now," he said.

The party has been setting nomination dates to ensure there are good candidates in place, and notes he has a high-profile educator set to run as a candidate in Dr. Melenchuk's riding.

"I'm working on the premise there's going to be a June election. Many people might not see it that way, but the government can see the Saskatchewan Party imploding. They've hit a glass ceiling and are going down. I believe the government wants to catch the electorate as the Liberals are building a team," said the leader.