Sask. finance minister has Parkinson's

Saskatchewan Finance Minister Rod Gantefoer has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, the minister announced Wednesday.

Gantefoer, 62, says he will stay on in the cabinet.

"No, I'm not Michael J. Fox or Muhammad Ali," Gantefoer said at a news conference at the legislaturein Regina. "But almost 4,000 people have Parkinson's disease in Saskatchewan."

Hollywood actor Fox and boxing great Ali have fought well-publicizedbattles with Parkinson's.

"If I can raise a bit of awareness about Parkinson's here in our own corner of the world, I think that would be a good thing," Gantefoer said.

'We just love ya, and we're grateful that you're going to stay and help us.' Sask. Premier Brad Wall

"I'm starting to show some symptoms from time to time and I thought people would want to know what it really was. So, if you happen to see my hands shake a bit, it's not because I just received the last potash forecast."

In Saskatchewan, potash is a key mineral resource that has a dramatic effect on government finances.

Diagnosed Jan. 15

Gantefoer said he was diagnosed Jan. 15. He saidhe wasn't feeling himself during the fall session of the legislature.

"I started on a very low level of medication," he said. "And I can feel some benefits already."

Gantefoer said he will also follow a new exercise regime.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall,whosat beside Gantefoer during the news conference,said he was moved by howthe ministerhandled sharing the medical news.

"He was calm and he was positive," Wall said. "He has been, continues to be, a stalwart leader through a very trying and difficult budget process. We just love ya, and we're grateful that you're going to stay and help us."

Gantefoer said he asked his neurologist if the disease would affect his ability to serve and was told"absolutely not."

"I won't die from Parkinson's, but I'll die with it," he said. "The symptoms may change and progress. But it's not a fatal disease.

He said he still has a role to play in politics.

"I don't want an excuse to get out," he said. "You don't quit when you're just near the toughest time of your career."

Gantefoer was first elected to the legislature in 1995 as a Liberal. He was a founding member of the Saskatchewan Party. He represents the rural constituency of Melfort.

He and his wife, Carole, have three married daughters and seven grandchildren.