An Even Better Christmas Present

Sask. changes clear in study

"The first wave of analyses from a massive study undertaken by the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy indicates just how great a sea change has occurred in Saskatchewan.

That the province's environment is remarkably different from a decade ago is difficult to miss. But just how much of an impact the changes have had on traditional voting trends wasn't clear until the school took advantage of the Nov. 7 election to parse out why people voted the way they did.

As political scientist David McGrane put it, "The Saskatchewan Party killed the NDP.""

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"Of the 30 groups the researchers examined, the majority in 29 groups voted for the Saskatchewan Party. These included such traditional NDP supporters as those with low incomes, young persons and the elderly, unionized workers, urban, suburban, and rural voters, and even public sector workers.

Not only was the Saskatchewan Party successful in getting its message out, but Monday's throne speech made it clear Mr. Wall was also listening. Included in the 20-page document are promises to make housing more affordable, help for young families and first-time homeowners, provide more childcare spaces, help for low-income seniors, and a commitment to work with unions to provide greater accountability for members."

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"In fact, the Johnson-Shoyama study suggests that when it comes to tapping into what union members want, Mr. Wall has been more successful than the union leaders who spent copious amounts of their members' dues to buy advertisements opposing the premier's ideas.

The government is wise to suggest it would like to work with unions to make sure the leaders are attuned closer to what their members want. It's a message the union leaders should take seriously."

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"But the study points to places where Mr. Wall seems offside, particularly with his own base. When researchers asked about support for the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly on the sale of Saskatchewan grain, there was considerable ambivalence.

But when the University of Saskatchewan's Social Responsibility Research Laboratory used its geographic data system to calculate concern about the board, it showed that the regions west and south of Saskatoon, where most of the province's wheat, barley and durum is grown, are also where there is greatest support for the monopoly.

There is a message in here for Mr. Wall that his ideology and that of his base might not be in sync, at least on this one critical issue. This could be a damaging aberration for a premier who has built his reputation on pragmatism."

The University of Saskatchewan's Social Responsibility Research Laboratory - three guesses what this "Laboratory" is all about. No doubt it's infested with NDPers, just as the rest of the U of S is - seems to have forgotten that most Saskatchewan farmers quit growing wheat a long time ago and have been growing crops they can sell without the approval of the Wheat Board. The region described is likely the area where the farmers are too chicken-shit to try marketing their own crops - precisely the group that needs nanny's protection.