What is the Sask Party's position on workplace safety?

Am I the only one starting to see a pattern?

October 15, 2009:

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Brad Wall wants to privatize safety inspections?

"The licensing and inspections branch of the ministry of corrections, public safety and policing is proposing to move safety inspections from the public service to a delegated authority. This new authority would be governed by a board of directors that would include industry representation," SGEU says. This will mean lower standards and less accountability, it adds.

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November 4, 2009:

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A crane at a construction site west of Regina shouldn't have been operating in Saskatchewan until it was properly certified in the province, the NDP charged in the legislature Tuesday.

During question period, Opposition labour critic Andy Iwanchuk asked how an out-of-province crane was still in use even after Occupational Health and Safety concerns were brought forward by a site safety co-ordinator several weeks ago.

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December 3, 2009:

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Barbara Cape, president of SEIU-West. “After waiting more than a year to see the employer’s initial wage offer, we are disappointed the employer is forcing another delay in discussions about client safety, staff recruitment and retention issues and other workplace concerns.”

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December 11, 2009:

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An occupational health and safety officer who raised serious concerns about the Saskatoon Correctional Centre said Thursday she was fired by the provincial government for doing her job and the problems at the jail likely still exist.

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Brad Wall and His Republican Buddies

From the Globe and Mail:

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Lindsey Graham is not your typical South Carolina senator. He thinks global warming is real – hardly a unanimous stand among Republicans – and he wants Canada to join him in his efforts to put in place a North American green economic strategy.

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Sounds good so far, right?

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Regardless, Mr. Graham's position thrills Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, whose province is not only (for now) the world's biggest miner of uranium used in nuclear reactors, but is also seeking $100-million (U.S.) from Washington to fund a $280-million cross-border carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) pilot project.

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Ok, so Wall wants some money. I guess he would given this:

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A proposed $270-million Saskatchewan-Montana carbon capture project could become solely a provincial venture if funding from the United States government doesn't come through, Premier Brad Wall said Tuesday on the eve of a trip to Washington, D.C.

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But what do Wall and Graham want?

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“The bill I'm trying to craft will be very pro-nuclear,” Mr. Graham offered. “We also have to utilize the coal we have and make it clean coal. I'm trying to combine energy independence with the renaissance of nuclear energy and controlling carbon.”

Some environmentalists are skeptical of Mr. Graham's support and note that he has accepted large donations from Scana Corp., which owns several coal-fired plants in South Carolina and is seeking to build two nuclear reactors in the state.

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So a pro-nuclear, pro clean coal agenda. Starting to sound familiar? But I guess it makes sense that these two guys would find each other. I mean, they agree on issues so why shouldn't they work together. It's not as if there is anything wrong with that, right? It's not like taxpayers are paying to get the two of them together...

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Mr. Graham and Mr. Wall have struck up a working relationship in recent weeks, thanks to the intermediation of former U.S. ambassador to Canada David Wilkins. Saskatchewan has retained Mr. Wilkins's law firm to represent it in the U.S. capital. Mr. Wall insists the $400,000 (U.S.) one-year contract is taxpayers' money well spent, and it's hard to argue with him, considering the access it has bought him on Capitol Hill

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I guess we will see if that $400,000 is well spent. No one in their right mind could argue it is well spent on the meeting themselves, but rather how it benefits Saskatchewan.

So I guess if we get the $100 million for the carbon project we can talk about the $400 k being acceptable or not.

If we don't then Brad has some 'spaining to do...

Brad Wall on Climate Change

So Brad Wall says that his government is taking climate change seriously? But what is telling Washington?

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Wall, unlike Inhofe, is no flat-earther. He accepts the science and recognizes a climate law of some kind is inevitable.But he's here to tell Washington "we need to rag the puck a bit" so that "cap-and-trade doesn't end up taking a pipe wrench to the parts of our economy that are still comparatively strong ..."

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So he admits that there is a problem on the climate change front, but he doen't think we should do anything about it.

SaskParty and Saskatchewan's Energy Future

So Buckdog thinks:

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It is becoming very clear that in spite of what they say publicly, Brad Wall and his Saskatchewan Party government have rejected all other possible alternate energy options in favour of nuclear power generation for the province's future energy needs.

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And the Jurist concurs:

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when it comes to evaluating the full range of energy options which will drive Saskatchewan's economy for the next 60 years, they claim the province should settle for Nine. Freaking. Days. With no public input.

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New Poll: Saskatchewan NDP in Statisital Tie with Right-Wing Sask Party

According to the latest poll from Environics:

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Gains for the NDP this quarter put the party in a virtual tie with the recently elected Saskatchewan Party, while support for the Liberals holds steady.

Five months into its mandate, the Saskatchewan Party (SP) government is finding itself being challenged by its closest rival, the NDP. The SP now has 46 percent of decided voter support, essentially unchanged from December 2007 and on par with the party’s share of the popular vote in the November 2007 election.

The NDP has gained ground this quarter and now rivals the SP, within the margin of error for the survey. The NDP now has the support of 41 percent of decided voters, up eight points from December 2007 and on par with its share of the popular vote.

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I thought that the Sask Party would be down, but I had no idea that the NDP would be up so much. Perhaps all this talk of a leadership race is premature!

(Yes, Yes, +/- 8% but that can work both ways, technically, the NDP could actually be ahead!)

Sask Party MLA calls NDP MLA "Dumb Bitch" in the House

Right-wing Saskatchewan Party MLA Mike Chisholm was speaking in the House this week and he made an pretty derogatory remark to one of the Female NDP MLA's.

I quote from Hansard:

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Mr. Chisholm: — Mr. Chair, those last comments were completely inappropriate for this committee, and I understand they should be withdrawn . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . You're calling somebody lazy and you think that's okay? Maybe we have to look at the Hansard on that one too, Deb, dumb bitch.

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The "Deb" he is referring to is Deb Higgins, the NDP MLA from Moose Jaw.

Check out the handy YouTube clip:



Now, I don't want to make too big a deal about this, both sides of the House cross the line from time-to-time, but this language is fairly unacceptable. I have no doubt that a apology was issued but still, I think this speaks to the Sask Party's bigger issue - their attitude towards women.

Update: Not only was there an apology but Chisholm has resigned from his position as a Legislative Secretary:

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Michael Chisholm, a Saskatchewan Party MLA for Cut Knife-Turtleford, has resigned as a legislative secretary after calling the NDP's Deb Higgins "a dumb bitch."

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Minister of Labour Rob Norris

Wow! This is harsh even by Mr. Mandryk's standards:

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If it truly was the New Democrats' goal to portray Norris as pompous and idiotic in this committee, their greatest ally in this effort has been Norris himself.

Deliberately adopting a speaking style reminiscent of William Shatner on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, Norris has blithered on about Plato, Aristotle and dead trees casting a shadow on the province. No metaphor has gone untortured.

But while Norris's petulance in committee has served no purpose other than to annoy, insult and demean, it may be unfair to single him out

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So to summarize, Norris is pompous, idiotic, blithering, annoying, insulting and demeaning.

Sounds about right

Saskatchewan Fillibuster

Leader Post

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By early evening Monday, NDP MLA Kevin Yates had spoken for three hours on the motion and was still going strong

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What the hell is going on in Saskatchewan these days! First the tape and now the legislature is being ground to a halt with a fillibuster.

The first session for the Saskatchewan Party is looking a bit disastrous.

Does 17-year old dirt matter?

I find it interesting that the only defense for the Brad Wall/Tom Lukiwski thing is "but, but but...it was 17-years ago, who cares? Move on."

Except the Sask Party are the masters of dredging up 17-year-old dirt:

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In 1992, then NDP caucus employee Ann Lord (Ann Davey) wrote a letter to NDP caucus chair MLA Glenn Hagel and NDP Caucus Chief of Staff Jim Fodey detailing how she had defrauded the caucus office by inflating cheques payable to her.

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Where were all the people who are defending Tom and Brad today with the 17-years-ago defense back then?

Oh that's right, they were screaming for blood.

Unless you can point to comments you made last year about the NDP 16-years-ago-scandal condemning the Sask Party for dredging up the past: then shut the hell up about 17-years-ago today.

Full 24-Minute Saskatchewan Scandal Video

The Highlights (With Video time in front)

2:56 Tom Lukiwski's Homophobic Comments

[Tom Lukiwksi is the Member of Parliament for Regina Lumsden Lake Center]

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, as we say in tour, I may be old, but I’m fucking A, eh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And who is this A person?

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, let me put it to you this way. There’s A’s and there’s B’s. The A’s are guys like me, the B’s are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases.

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, quit talking about Jeff like that.

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, John Bergen and I had a little discussion and I’d like to tell you that it’s going to be out in our campaign literature real soon, watch for it (INAUDIBLE).


5:20 Letter Bomb (With a Sexual Innuendo Interlude)

[Kathy Young is the Director of Communications for the Saskatchewan Party Government
She is also involved important messages involving labour legislation and other labour issues being debated in the Saskatchewan Legislature right now]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you writing, Kim?

KIM: I’m writing –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: F-words.

KIM: Oops, I said, Tom, I tried to think of something witty, but what the fuck, happy birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very blurry handwriting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our friends and union leaders.

KATHY YOUNG: George Rosseneau, Barb Byers are big friends of mine personally.

[snip]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let’s see here. What have we got going on on this screen?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You’re talking about –

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it’s top secret.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That’s right. We’re talking about friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We’d show you, but then we’d have to kill you.

KATHY YOUNG: We’re writing this union speech to the red union leaders, George Rosseneau. We have threatened his life two times, and what else?

KATHY YOUNG: Oh, we sent a bomb to Barb Byers --

[Barb Byers is the Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress, having been (at the time of the video) at the helm of the SGEU through the turbulent years of the scandal-ridden Conservative government of Grant Devine]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We --

KATHY YOUNG: Byers, a letter bomb to Barb.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To Byers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To Byers.


7:20 Some Astute Political Analysis

[The results of the 1991 Saskatchewan election? The tories lost almost three-quarters of the seats they had held in the legislature and a significant share of the popular vote. Final Seat Count? 10]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We’re going to win 42 seats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t think we’re going to win – how many did you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forty-two.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t think we’re going to win 42 at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you think? (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many do you think we will win?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, take your best shot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t know very much about politics. How much –

(LAUGHER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How’d you get your job? Who do you know?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I’m going right now to visit him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. I know a lot, but not a lot of – not a lot of about that.


8:00 First Lynda Comment

[Lynda Haverstock was is the former leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and was the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan from 2000 until 2006.]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I predict that Grant Devine will smash the living dog shit out of that spineless political playboy and kick the balls right off of that hard-headed slut Lynda.


8:40 Second Lynda Comment

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about Lynda’s balls?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It’s going to be tight. I don’t think Lynda has balls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, big ones, big chubby suckers like this.


11:00 Tom Again

TOM LUKIWSKI: We want to tell you exactly what we think from the tour
standpoint. We think the tour is going fucking A.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fucking A.

TOM LUKIWSKI: And we think the debate’s going to go fucking A.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fucking A.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And predictions for the outcome of the election?

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, we think the Tories are going to do fucking A.

OTHERS: Fucking A.

TOM LUKIWSKI: We’re kind of stuck on that, you know.

[You are sure "stuck" now Tom.]


11:50 John Scraba makes an Appearance

[John Scraba is the architect of the tory fraud scandal in Saskatchewan. In what is easily the biggest political scandal in Saskatchewan's history, no fewer than 12 members of Devine's government were charged in relation to a scheme that defrauded taxpayers of more than $837,000.]

JOHN SCRABA: You’re tipped sideways there, that’s okay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, well, I’ll just get it that way then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, you’re in a proper frame here. I got it right. Here we go.
All right. Now, do you have comments on the debate, sir?

JOHN SCRABA: Certainly. We haven’t seen it yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, what do you predict?

JOHN SCRABA: Oh, predict an overwhelming victory and defeat for the other
socialist hordes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what do you predict on the outcome of the election?

JOHN SCRABA: And urinate on their remains while we’re at it.


13:20 Third Lynda Comment

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you know, all you got to do is let Lynda talk long enough
and she makes a fucking idiot out of herself, that’s all I have to say.


13:36 Joan Berston Making very odd comments

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say something profound.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It’s either black or white. It’s either – just a minute. Excuse me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, did he win this bitch?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Big time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black or white. You have to do your eyes like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, oh, oh,

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you have to have big lips and (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, Ms. --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black or white.


15:10 Former Senator Berston makes an appearance

[Eric Brentson was the Tory Leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1982 and was Deputy Premier in the Devine government. In 1999, Bernston was convicted of illegally diverting government allowances for polling purposes between 1987 and 1991 when he was Saskatchewan's deputy premier. He was sentenced to one year in prison.]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Berntson, do you have a reaction tonight?

ERIC BERNSTON: Well, number one, I’m not Senator Berntson. I’m an anonymous guy that –

(LAUGHER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He’s with the government and he’s here to help.

ERIC BERNSTON: that doesn’t know anything about any of this stuff, so all I’ll say is fucking A.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So don’t quote me on it.

ERIC BERNSTON: No, don’t quote me, yeah.

(INAUDIBLE)


16:00 Regan Rap

[Good Stuff]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I have.

BRAD WALL: “Well, I’m the big gipper, don’t mess with me. I’m the baddest rapper this side of DC with my best girl Nancy as my spouse,rappin’ to you from that big white house. B-b-b-b Bonzo, b-b-b-b Bonzo.” That’s the white house rap.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cool.


16:40 Brad Becomes the Camera Man

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The zoom should be right on there.

BRAD WALL: It should be on the trigger somewhere. Push.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, here it is, right here. Your zoom is right here, Brad --

BRAD WALL: Oh, yeah.


19:00 Ken Azzopardi And the 4th Linda Comment

[Ken Assopardi is the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, they’re busy in here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken Azzopardi and his – and his future of Saskatchewan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what Ken’s – what does he think about Lynda? This is Ken. He (INAUDIBLE) big time stuff, big time stuff.

[Holds up Lingerie catalog with women's read ends]


20:50 Ken doing up his pants and Reds rant

KEN AZZOPARDI: I’m doing up my –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He’s doing up –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now the light’s on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The light is on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It’s my first opportunity to look into this campaign. Fuck you all. We won tonight.

KEN AZZOPARDI: Well, you know, I was just talking to a guy and there’s four reds there at his house. He’s ours. He has four reds at his house and the reds think the reds – the City of Regina reds who said Lynda won --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, give me –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- on --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On abortion, abortion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they say that because they want them to say it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute, no, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abortion.

KEN AZZOPARDI: Lynda won and Romanow was the big loser. For a red that’s a major fucking victory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A major fucking victory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lynda made –

JOAN BERNTSON: She made one statement on abortion, you know. She made one statement on abortion earlier, but I can’t remember what it was, but it was everyone in Saskatchewan cares about the lives --


21:90 Brad Stops being Camera Man, just in time to give us: Brad's Ukranian impression

KATHY YOUNG: The Premier versus Haverstick (sic) and –

BRAD WALL: Let me tell you something. I watched that in – I watched that in Preeceville. I watched that debate and I’ll tell you this, I never – I never seen Grant Devine – I – I will never – I never voted for Grant Devine.

KATHY YOUNG: Why not?

BRAD WALL: I never voted for him, but I –

KATHY YOUNG: Why not?

BRAD WALL: Before. I see him on TV tonight after Helen fixed me dinner and I tell you I like Grant Devine. Roy Romanow got his head up his ass . I don’t even know how he walks upright with his head so far up his ass and I’ll you --

KATHY YOUNG: Mr. (INAUDIBLE), how do you think he walks --

BRAD WALL: I’m not – I’m not kidding. So the bottom line is this –

UNIDENTIFIED MAILE: Why you talking like that?

BRAD WALL: I’m voting – I’m going to vote. I’m voting and the guy that I will vote for – who I’m voting for – marking my ballot to vote is Grant Devine.

KATHY YOUNG: And you –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I thought it was good. Oh, Curtis

What's Brad going to do with the CUPE Strikers?

For those of you joining us from outside Saskatchewan, a quick catch-up:

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As the strike by the province's 2,400 university support staff enters its 13th day today there is no sign of a break in stalled contract talks.

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I am hearing from some interesting sources that Wall and Co. are looking at appointing a binding arbitrator for the dispute.

This would be a very interesting fist move by the Sask Party. It would send a signal to the labour movement that the Sask Party is serious about changing the labour-relations dynamic in this province.

This sort of move would be popular with the Sask Party base and only really piss-off trade unionists (who didn't exactly support them to begin with.)

Now, what would be a serious over-reaction by a rookie government would be to legislate these people back to work, THAT would be a sign that they are going to do exactly what the NDP always said the Sask Party would do: Declare war on organized labour.

This story bears watching....

Saskatchewan Cabinet Predictions

So Sean and John are starting the whole "guess who is in the new cabinet" game so I guess i will play too.

Firs off, I would agree that the cabinet will be smaller than the 16-18 of the Calvert years, but probably not as small as the 10 to 12 that John figures. I think 12-14 is the most likely.

So let's say 14 for the sake of this.

First off you need regional representation. I figure at least 2 from Regina and Saskatoon and 1from Moose Jaw and 1 from Prince Albert. Then you need your small urban's (So Estevan, Weyburn, Humboldt, Yorkton, Meadow Lake, Swift Current (obviously)) I would say you need 2-3 of those so let's say 2 other than Brad. So that is 9 all told so far.

Then you need some female representation. Luckily, you have some overlap with Regina and Humboldt out of the list above. But you are going to need more than just 2-3. I figure you need at least 5. So that puts Draude in for sure (Now we are up to 10) And you probably want Heppner in as well. Then either Wilson or Eagles

This then creates a problem. You only have 2-3 seats left for all the hardcore people from opposition. You have to include Boyd and Kravetz so that only leaves one (at best).

Let's recap:

Wall - Male - Small Urban (Swift Current)
Kravetz - Male - Rural
Hickie - Male - Prince Albert
Michelson - Male - Moose Jaw
Heppner - Female - Rural
Draude - Female - Rural
Huchinson - Male - Regina
Ross/Tell - Female - Regina
Morgan - Male - Saskatoon
Chevy/Norris/LeClerk - Male - Saskatoon [If he is smart he will pick Norris]
Harpauer - Female - Small Urban (Humboldt)
Boyd - Male - Rural
Eagles - Female - Small Urban (Estevan)

This gives you:

Small urban - 3
MJ - 1
PA - 1
Sasktoon - 2
Regina - 2
Rural 4

and
Male - 8
Female - 5

He could easily fit a rural female (Nadine Wilson) in there but that is the only easy demographic fit.

But look at who is being left out:

Don McMorris
Dan D'Autremont
Rod Gantafore
Bob Bjornerud
Wayne Elhard
Lyle Stewart

That was pretty much the front bench of the current Saskatchewan Party (Plus Chevy, Wall, Morgan and Kravetz) and he might leave Chevy out too.

Plus, do you want to leave nutjobs like Serge LeClerk and Jeremy Harrison on the outside ? (pissing inwards)

Mr. Wall is facing the first problem of moving over to government: cabinet selection.

It will be instructive to see how he handles it.

Note that this is all assuming that Wall cares about regional and gender parity, if he wants to just throw those ideas out the window then it would make his life better - in the short run. For example, I won't be surprised if some of the women that I have listed above get dropped to placate the old-boy's club.

Sask Party Candidate makes odd comment about Jewish People

So buckdog had this great post on Serge LeClerk, the new Sask Party candidate in Saskatoon:

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Saskatchewan Party Candidate Takes Heat For Calling Charter of Rights And Freedoms 'A Piece Of Garbage'

A candidate for the Opposition Saskatchewan Party has been challenged to explain comments he has made concerning the Charter of Rights And Freedoms

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Well it turns out that Mr. LeCerk has a couple more interesting things to say in his book "Untwisted" available on his website here, (copyright 2007) but I don't know that the Sask Party would want them brought to people's attention.

On Page 11, Mr. LeCerk has this to say:

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And then there were the Sheeney Men, Jewish men with long black coats, black hats, and curls, who came down the street with their horse-drawn wagons.

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"Sheeny" Men!

For those of you not in the know, I point you to dictionary.com. Sheeny can mean one of two things:

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adjective, sheen·i·er, sheen·i·est.
shining; lustrous

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or:

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n. pl. shee·nies Offensive Slang
Used as a disparaging term for a Jew.

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I will give you one choice as to which meaning Mr. LeClerk meant. I guess he could have meant shining Jews, but is that likely?

Sask NDP Attack campaign

So small dead animals is talking about this...



Which (supposedly) is an image from the NDP attack campaign for this fall's election. So far all we know is what the Sask Party and Small Dead Animals have to say about it, I will wait to see, if it focuses on policy, then great, if it focuses on personal attacks, less good.

Saskatchewan Party Candidate has Ethical Problems

It is not too often that I find myself agreeing with Murry Mandryk but in his column today he made some interesting points about the Saskatchewan Party Candidate Christine Tell.

Here are some tidbits:

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So it very much comes down to an ethical decision. And Tell -- who, if elected to a Brad Wall government would stand a pretty good chance as a woman and a Regina MLA of making cabinet -- has made some questionable ethical decisions.

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and:

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By blaming Johnston, Tell added to the bad judgment she already demonstrated by deciding not to take a leave of absence.

And such bad judgment calls are sometimes a lot more harmful to a candidate than anything else.

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This all stems from the problem that she is a police officer that was suspended, put on probation and then attacked the police force for being "political"

Does this sound like a person that you want as your MLA?

me neither.

Saskatchewan Conservative Party Health Care Plan Leaked to Media

This "newspaper" somehow got a hold of the Sask Party's plan for Health Care in Saskatchewan:

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Health care is all about exclusivity, pure and simple. It's for a group of like-minded people bonded by the dream of only having to contribute a portion of their weekly wages to ensure unfettered access to a number of licensed health care professionals. If we change all that, health care will be about as elite as a public restroom, open to any yokel who waltzes into an emergency room

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The Saskatchewan Conservative Party on the Environment

With all the recent foo-fa-rah about the environment (an issue that I think - and hope - will continue to rise in prominence) and kyoto and such, I thought it would be instructive to look at some choice quotes from the Saskatchewan Conservative Party.

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“Now we talk about Kyoto in the past and how the people over there [The NDP] supported Kyoto, and they did not really believe the fact that the Kyoto accord was basically a transfer of money from richer nations to poorer nations. They [The NDP] couldn’t see through that.”
Sask Party MLA Yogi Huyghebaert: October 30th 2006

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"The Kyoto accord could have some real negative impact [sic] on Saskatchewan…”
Sask Party MLA Glen Hart (Then Environment Critic) April 19th, 2005

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"...look what has the government done concerning the Kyoto agreement[....] And now we see through extreme government regulation the NDP are putting more restrictions on the businesses of this province."
Sask Party MLA Randy Weekes: (Then Environment Critic) Dec 13, 2002

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"We should be sending a clear statement that we reject the implementation of the Kyoto accord"
Sask Party MLA Jason Dearborn: Dec 10, 2002

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"So what then is the Kyoto Protocol? Well, Mr. Speaker, it’s not about science. It is crass, old-fashioned politics — socialist politics — intent on redistributing income led by overzealous Environment department bureaucrats."
Sask Party MLA Arlene Jule: Dec 10, 2002

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"But the problem, Mr. Speaker, is that the Kyoto Protocol, the Kyoto accord, is a flawed agreement. It’s an impossible agreement, Mr. Speaker."
Sask Party MLA Elwin Hermanson (Former Leader): Dec 10, 2002

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"The Kyoto accord, which this government supported, when fully implemented has the potential to seriously penalize oil and gas development."
Sask Party MLA Lyle Stewert: March 27, 2003

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"Under Kyoto in its present form, those steps are leading down the wrong road. Scientists don’t agree. They can’t assure us that there is a trend to global warming."
Sask Party MLA Doreen Eagles: Dec 10, 2002

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“If the agreements — the CO2 agreements, Kyoto — come into place, that will be a severe impediment to Saskatchewan…”
Sask Party MLA Dan D’Autremont: October 27th 2004

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So they deny the science behind global warming, they claim it is a "socialist" policy dreamed up by environmental bureaucrats to redistribute wealth to poor nations (which they obviously also have a problem with).

In terms of the effects on Saskatchewan? According to the Sask Party this "extreme regulation" would have negative impacts, restrictions on business, would impede oil and gas development (gasp) and be a severe impediment to the province.

This, this is Brad Wall's Kinder, Gentler, Sask Party

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Saskatchewan Conservative Party Lies and Half-Truths

At the NDP convention last week, some protesters showed up. Thinking that they were the same SGEU protesters that had been picketing the day before (and joined by one of the MLA’s) most people didn’t think anything of it.

So a lot of people who took the literature of the picketers the day before and had talked to them, just breezed on by the protesters on the second day thinking that this was just another day of the same protest.

However, these picketers were not SGEU people again, they were protesters of the government on heath care issues

Here is what Don McMorris (The Saskatchewan Party health critic) had to say in the house about this topic (Which resulting in Deb Higgins getting quite upset and calling him a liar – which is against the rules of the house) :

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Mr. McMorris: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Friends and family of Doug Bonderud went to the NDP convention this weekend. They didn’t get any answers. Marj and Terry Rak went to the convention as well. They didn’t get any answers. Some of the members opposite had the courtesy to at least stop and listen, and I applaud them for that. But all too many of these members across the way blew past them like the member from Moose Jaw Wakamow, like the member from Saskatoon Meewasin, like the member from Cumberland. The member from Saskatoon Nutana didn’t even break stride but at least she had the nerve to go in the front door and at least go by these protesters. Whereas the other members couldn’t, didn’t have that common courtesy. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker . . .

The Speaker: — Order, order. Order. Order. Order. Order. Order. Order. Order please. Order please. Order please. Order. Order please. Order please. Members, on a point of order, the member from Moose Jaw Wakamow has made a remark which was unparliamentary and which was heard by all in the House, and I would ask her at this time to rise and withdraw it unequivocally and apologize to the House.

Hon. Ms. Higgins: — Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my remarks and apologize to the House.

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Wow! Sounds like Mr. McMorris was there, doesn’t it? I mean, he describes, in detail, who did and did not walk past the protesters and even went as far as to describe one of the MLA’s as “not breaking stride”

The only problem is, Mr. McMorris was not there.

So was he lying in the House? No. He did see this action happen – ON FILM, and we know this because he later admitted as much to the media.

So that seems like a lot of weight to put on a video that was, by his own accounts, quite short and may not have told the whole story. Why would he stand in the House and make a statement based on that video?

Well, it turns out the video was recorded by Ian Hannah, who just so happens to be the Director of Communications for the Saskatchewan Party

Here is what the paper had to say about this this morning:

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Hannah's videotape was immediately placed on YouTube (an Internet broadcast service) for all to enjoy and was then raised by Saskatchewan Party health critic Don McMorris in the assembly Monday, as he listed off a number of NDP MLAs that he believed either didn't stop or supposedly ducked the protest. In mean-spirited fashion, McMorris accused NDP politicians like Learning Minister Deb Higgins of not caring for cancer victims, setting off a firestorm in the legislature with accusations of "lying."

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Here is the video



You will note that what is most interesting is that the part of the video the Sask Party posted contains a cabinet minister or two talking to the picketers and DOES NOT include the scene described by McMorris in the house.

I wonder why?

Particularly when you factor in who took the video......The Sask Party communications director Ian Hannah.

Again, let's go back to the newspaper:

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However, what was truly sad about this is how smugly gleeful Saskatchewan Party MLAs and political hacks seemed to be about using such borderline-sleazy tactics of misrepresentation to drag provincial politics even lower.

Given that both Bonderud and the Raks have been to the legislature several times and talked to several NDP politicians, what exactly does it prove that any particularly NDP politician didn't choose to stop and speak with them on this particular day?

If the roles were reversed and it was Saskatchewan Party MLAs walking into their annual convention with their families, would they be any more inclined to stop and talk to angry protesters? Given that about half their caucus can't make it through a reporters' scrum without losing their cool and walking off in huff, one somehow doubts it.

And didn't the Saskatchewan Party pass guidelines for political ethics at its last convention? Did they include videotaping NDP MLAs and presenting the results in a misleading way?

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And that, friends, is the crux of it. While I don't know if any political party has a problem with legitimate use of video and YouTube, I think the problem is that any tool can be used or misused. Given the fact that the Sask Party seems to have a problem with representing the truth when it comes to the written word, what makes anyone think they are not above manipulating the story from start to finish?

For example here are just SOME of the times the Sask Party and Brad Wall have lied or made up quotes or misrepresented the facts and were caught by the media:

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At issue was a quote attributed to Crown Investment Corp. Minister Maynard Sonntag, supposedly from a June 13, 2000, debate on the budget estimates. It quoted Sonntag saying: "With respect to Con-Force in the construction of the buildings, they were jointly owned. The ownership was Con-Force 51 per cent and ourselves 49 per cent."

Here's what Hansard indicates Sonntag said: "First of all, with respect to Con-Force in the construction of the buildings, they were jointly owned but they were entirely debt-financed and SaskWater -- the Spudco division of SaskWater -- subsequently bought Con-Force out."

Not only did the Opposition completely distort Sonntag's statement, but it did so to make the point that there needed to be a special legislative investigation of him for "lying to the legislature." That's not just irresponsible. It's contemptible.

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"Minister's self-absorption sad" Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: Feb 26, 2003. pg. A.12

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Contrary to Wall's near-hysterical press release Wednesday forewarning Premier Lorne Calvert of another looming National Energy Program… no one has actually called for another NEP.

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“Oil rant doesn't add much to national debate” Regina Leader Post: Sep 2, 2005. pg. B.7

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“In this case, it's all about history, beginning with what has become the annoying, disrespectful and sometimes downright dangerous habit of the Saskatchewan Party of implying scandal, fraud and corruption from within the safety of the legislative assembly when they have had virtually no evidence thereof.”

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“Politicians are architects of their own misery” Regina Leader Post: Mar 24, 2006. pg. B.7

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“Less than a month after he rose in the house to suggest that SaskEnergy should hurry to lock in a contract at $5.56 a gigajoule until October 2002, Saskatchewan Party critic Brad Wall issued a press release that berates the company for failing to take advantage of prices that have now fallen to $4.61 a GJ for a one-year contract. Forget that Wall was wrong on June 5 about the $5.56 price he was tossing about in the legislature because he failed to include several costs, including delivery charges, that make the price considerably higher in Saskatchewan. Ignore that he's again conveniently leaving out these costs in citing a $4.61 price that applies only in Alberta. Wall's June 29 press release serves to underline why consumers are better served by having experts who know the natural gas market make SaskEnergy's purchasing decisions than to follow the whims of politicians trying to outguess a commodity market that's more volatile than the NASDAQ.”

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“Energy critic disingenuous” Star - Phoenix: Jul 7, 2001. pg. A.8

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“An Opposition plan to embarrass the government went awry Thursday when a businessperson invited to the legislature to condemn the province's sales tax increase and threaten a move to Alberta found out he doesn't have to charge his customers the PST. During question period in the legislature, Saskatchewan Party MLA Brad Wall said the government's PST expansion threatens to put Stein out of business However, following the scrum with reporters, Stein was invited to meet with Department of Finance officials. Less than an hour later, he emerged from the meeting a contented man.”

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“Opposition's sales tax challenge backfires” Star - Phoenix: May 5, 2000. pg. A.8

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"Say what you will about Romanow's Opposition, factual mistakes in questions were rare as hens' teeth. But such question period screwups have become a weekly thing for the Saskatchewan Party. Last week, CIC critic Brad Wall railed on about a non-existent SaskTel investment in a Honolulu cable TV company. This week, we heard Brenda Bakken complain about Liquor and Gaming Minister Ron Osika "hiding from the public" an annual report that the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority had actually made public in August."

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"Sonntag admits scary ignorance" Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: May 2, 2003. pg. A.14

And after all of that they expect us to believe that they represented this video fairly? That they didn't make any edits or ommisions? *bah*

The Sask Party has just figured out how to use the new media of videotaping and YouTube to carry on their campaign of misinformation from the Internet.

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Saskatchewan Conservative Party and Devine

The Sask Party is always whining that we talk to much about Grant Devine. But they do it almost as much as we do.

For example, in his response to the throne speech a couple of days ago, here is what one of the Sask Party MLA's had to say:

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“I remember the member from Saskatoon Nutana talking about the last, I would say, 25 years in this province. And if she is learning from that history that she recited, we’re going to be in big trouble with this government and we are in big trouble. Because her recitation of what the history was in this province is completely different than what I remember and I believe what most people in the province remember,... Madam Deputy Speaker, certainly when the Devine government took over, there was debt from the Blakeney government….You know, they think that the Devine government was the only government that promised and that went into debt.”
- Don McMorris (Indian-Head Milestone) Nov 7, 2006 Hansard

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