SASKATCHEWAN (CBC) - With oil prices hovering above $120 a barrel, the New Democrats are reminding the Saskatchewan Party about their old idea of cutting gasoline taxes to give consumers a break.

On Sept. 6, 2005, then-opposition leader Brad Wall proposed cutting provincial gas taxes by one cent for every dollar over $60 the price of a barrel was exceeding. The man who's now Saskatchewan's premier argued then that a government awash in oil and gas money should give people a break at the pumps.

At that time, oil was $67.43 a barrel. Under Wall's proposal, the gas tax would have been cut by seven cents a litre at that point.

On Thursday, Opposition leader Lorne Calvert reminded the government of Wall's proposal, and noted that motorists in Regina are now paying 131.9 cents a litre.

Living up to Wall's promise would now mean eliminating the entire 15 cent-a-litre provincial tax. Calvert asked when drivers could expect that tax cut and added some more reminders of what Wall said in 2005.

"He said it was time for the provincial government of the day, and I quote, 'To climb off their stack of oil and gas revenues and give the people of Saskatchewan some of their money back,' " Calvert said.

Responding in the legislature, Finance Minister Rod Gantefoer said people in Saskatchewan got a big break last Nov. 7, when they kicked the NDP out of office.

He also said oil prices are volatile and there's no guarantee the high prices will remain. "Certainly, it's easy to right now look and say, currently it's $120-plus a barrel," he said. "There is no certainty in the industry that this is going to remain."

Gantefoer said the government has lived up to 40 campaign promises in its first budget and is focused on cutting education property taxes.

"The price of gas at the pumps is only one of a number of issues that we are closely monitoring to make sure that our citizens are aptly looked after," Gantefoer said.

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