Thank You, Brad Wall

Moving Saskatchewan Forward

Thank You Brad Wall!!!

The State of the Province in One Word

Saskatchewan supports the Energy East Pipeline

...for not being the NDP!!!

Woot! Woot! Woot!

Saskatchewan's population reaches all-time high

"According to new figures from Statistics Canada Saskatchewan's population increased by more than 20,000 people in 2013.

The current population stands at about 1,117,503 people, a rise which Premier Brad Wall said shows the province is on the right track."

[---]

"Saskatchewan had the second highest growth rate out of the 10 Canadian provinces, with Alberta topping the list.

Saskatchewan and Alberta were also the only two provinces to have more people moving into the province than out in 2013, with every other province having the opposite. (Emphasis mine.)

More than 13,000 of the new Saskatchewan residents were people who moved here from other countries. Almost 1,400 people moved here from other provinces. There was a natural increase of 5,580 people which is the total of births minus deaths in the province in 2013."

There's a down side, though. Sask.Job vacancy rate second highest among provinces

"Saskatchewan has the second highest job vacancy rate among the provinces, while the ratio of unemployed people to job vacancies is the second lowest in Canada.

Statistics Canada says Saskatchewan had 8,300 job vacancies in the three-month average ending in December 2013.

The ratio of unemployed people to job vacancies in the province was 2.4, up from 1.8 a year earlier, as the number of vacancies fell faster than the number of unemployed people.

Nationally, there were 6.3 unemployed people for every job vacancy, up from 5.7 in December 2012."

It's So Hard...

...not to believe in conspiracy theories:

Saskatchewan to call for abolition of Senate

"The motion, which is largely symbolic, comes one week before the Supreme Court of Canada is scheduled to begin hearings on the constitutional implications of reforming the Red Chamber."

More here and here and here.

Brad Wall Strikes Again!

Rather than reacting with police to arrest Idle No More lawbreakers he has announced what amounts to a good, long over-due slap in the face of the Indian Industry:

Wall suggests funding changes

"Premier Brad Wall has hinted the Saskatchewan Party government will change how it provides First Nations-related funding in the province.

"We're going to move away from funding the process part of things that have delivered for Canadians and for aboriginals, specifically, the same lack of results," Wall told reporters Wednesday at the legislature.

He said the government has communicated this message to the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.

"If you will bring us projects that are about results in education and employment, you're actually going to find a government willing to partner with real dollars.

"But we're going to be moving away from just funding these tables where talk happens and interminably talk happens and the problems continue," he said.

Wall said he hopes in the future the Idle No More movement "will focus perhaps less on blockades and more on the opportunities that are available here in the province."

"We want to engage with First Nations with respect to education, with respect to the jobs that are available today and you will see some specific initiatives in this very area in the budget or perhaps even before the bud-get's out," Wall said.

[---]

""As long as I'm the premier, as long as this government is in office, there will be no special deals for any group, regardless of that group, in terms of natural resource revenue sharing," Wall said.

FSIN Chief Perry Bellegarde said resource revenue sharing is "unfinished treaty business."

"We've got to find collaborative ways to come to the table to deal with that. Treaties were not meant to impoverish our people, yet that's what we see," Bellegarde said, adding that he thinks more formal processes and meetings with government decision makers are needed.

"We need processes to get us there," Bellegarde said. "We need dialogue. ... Let's put our heads and minds together so we can really work in a co-operative manner to resolve these issues."

He said the FSIN receives "minimal" provincial funding, which is directed to specific programs or projects. He added he assumes by "tables," Wall was referring to long-standing self-governance tables.

"I want to see results as well," Bellegarde said, noting he also agrees with ensuring the population is "grounded in a good education and has good skills so they can compete and do a job in this economy."

Federal and provincial politicians are scheduled to make an announcement in Saskatoon on Thursday about training for aboriginals."

I think he's got Perry Bellegarde on the run, too.

Wall can't be idle on First Nations

The author of this piece, Murray Mandryk, is an unabashed Liberal/Dipper who has nothing good too say about either Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party or Stephen Harper and the conservatives, so he starts with a quote from Brad Wall:

"As long as I'm the premier, as long as this government is in office, there will be no special deals for any group, regardless of that group, in terms of natural resource revenue sharing," Wall told reporters.

He then continues:

"Wall also said provincial funding will not necessarily flow through the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) [Ed: Good. About damn time]  and will instead focus on results-based projects. "If you will bring us projects that are about results in education and employment, you're actually going to find a government willing to partner with real dollars," he said.

Even for First Nations people with a healthy skepticism of the FSIN's or their local band council's ability to deliver, there will be an even greater skepticism of a white politician who claims treaties are the foundation of our society, but refuses to engage in what treaty rights really mean.

There again, if you are white, middle-class and conservative - the very people at least part of Wall's message Wednesday seemed aimed [at]- you likely weren't completely pleased with everything he had to say, either.

The notion of any more provincial tax dollars being tossed into what they regard as the bottomless pit of aboriginal demands is vastly unappealing to this demographic, some of whom likely viewed Wednesday's Idle No More protests mostly as cause for arrests. Heaven forbid that we view the protests of First Nations in the same way as farmers' tractor rallies in the 1990s."

Let there be no doubt why I admire this Brad Wall, and the party he leads, and have the utmost contempt for Murray Mandryk.

New funding for Aboriginal employment

"The federal and provincial governments have teamed up to create the Skills and Partnership Fund – a fund they hope will help First Nations people find fulfilling long-term employment.

The announcement, which followed Brad Wall’s hints about cutting FSIN funding yesterday, was made by MP Rob Clarke and MLA Rob Norris.

The majority of the funds announced come from the federal government’s $7.9 million investment in Northern Career Quest, with the province chipping in $1.5 million through the Ministry of the Economy.

Federal funds are being invested in Northern Career Quest for its training for employment in the mining industry.

“Our government’s top priorities are job creation, economic growth and long-term prosperity,” said Clarke in a press release. “That is why we work with organizations like Northern Career Quest to ensure that Aboriginal people are able to take full advantage of economic opportunities.”

Northern Career Quest will provide Aboriginal people in the province with classroom and on-site training and work experience in the mining industry. In two years, the organization will train 800 people for positions such as mining technicians, heavy equipment operators, welders, and office administration.

Additional funding for the project will come from industry partners, including Cameco, Areva, and Northlands College."

Sounds like a very good idea. However, we'll have to see if it turns out any better than legions of past initiatives have. I'm not holding my breath.

A Little Bit Disappointing...

...to say the least:

Sask. government overhauling labour laws

Every thing proposed is good, but it doesn't go nearly far enough. I thought Brad Wall et al had bigger balls than that.

More info here:

Labour law changes introduced in Sask. legislature

And here:

Saskatchewan enacts new legislation for unions

CRFA encouraged by changes to Saskatchewan labour legislation

Meanwhile, someone working for Saskatchewan's chief union goon has brought a complaint to the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board alleging harassment by her boss. Oh, the irony.

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Should the legal drinking age be lowered to 18?

"A resolution to lower the legal drinking age to 18 in Saskatchewan was passed at the SaskParty's convention Saturday. Members of the SaskParty youth came out en mass at the convention to support the resolution." (Emphasis mine)

Related: Supreme Court upholds guts of drunk driving law

EEEEHAAAAAAW!

Take that, Dippers!! See what happens when you turf the NDP:

"The population of Saskatchewan increased by the most people in a single year in nearly a century, according to the latest Statistics Canada numbers.

The province grew by 22,154 between July 2011 and 2012, the Saskatchewan Party boasted on Thursday. It is the biggest year-over-year increase since 1921, the government noted. The jump brought the number of people living in the province to 1,079,958."

Bit by bit, day by day, I'm growing more and more confident that here in knuckledraggerland we'll never see the dippers in power again. Maybe we'll even have to stop dragging our knuckles.

Dippers - Doing What Dippers Always Do

Whine. Whine. Whine.

'Lack of civility' closes website

"The provincial NDP decries what its president calls a “lack of civility displayed by Sask. Party activists,” while the executive director of the party of Premier Brad Wall’s government called the situation “laughable.”

In a statement, Cory Oxelgren, president of the NDP, said the party launched a website Tuesday on which it invited comments directed to Wall about the government’s proposed labour law changes. The timing corresponded with the launch of the NDP caucus’s “consultation tour” on the same issue, but was a separate effort."

[---]

"Many of the comments indicated support for Wall and the Sask. Party, which appeared ironic on Twitter under the NDP heading, which was later changed to “SKLabour Review.” Some were negative regarding the NDP and organized labour in general.

In other words, the comments were politically incorrect.

Dippers. They can dish it out, but they can't take it. I would suggest they pick up their marbles and run on over to CBC's website where they're sure to receive a warm welcome from their comrades, sisters and brothers.

Seriously, give your heads a shake folks. You shut the website down because you didn't like the way Saskatchewanites were responding to your fishing expedition.

Makes me think (hope) we really are done with the Dippers in this province. It's looking more and more like that's so. The bullies always retreat when you stand up to them. The proletariat is fighting back. We have stood up and we're roaring. And they're fwightened.

Sock It to 'Em, Brad!!

Wall rallies for better Canada-U.S. relations, decries policies of Obama administration

All Hail Brad Wall

Labour law under scrutiny Public asked for input

Yup. This is a province where the NDP legacy equals stranglehold and it's main arena is legislation giving labour and, especially unions, the upper hand. The employer, or capitalism in general, is seen as guilty until proven innocent, and its a forgone conclusion that if you are an employer you must be guilty, guilty of something, even if you haven't been charged.

Keep going, Brad! I mean, if this isn't intrusive, I don't know what is:

"The province's Trade Union Act allows an employee to opt out only on religious grounds, and the employee must pay an amount equal to the union dues to an agreed upon charity."

I wonder which charities the union bosses would agree with.

YEEEEHAAAAW

Keep going, Saskatchewan!!

Yesterday...

...Brad Wall's government brought down their budget and it included ending a subsidy for the "Arts Community". Today, the "Arts-Entitled-to-My-Entitlements-Community" is up in arms. Listening to them howl and whine is great entertainment in and of itself.

Thank you Brad Wall!

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.""

[---]

"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."

[---]

"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."

[---]

"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.

I Hope He's Right....

...'cause that's how I feel, and I love being right.

Brad Wall brings ‘Harpertism’ to the provinces

"Is Saskatchewan the new Alberta? Premier Brad Wall’s massive recent re-election victory seems to indicate that conservatism — in particular, populist conservatism — has found a new home in what used to be left-leaning Tommy Douglas country."

[---]

"They earned an astonishing 64 per cent of the popular vote (no Saskatchewan-based party has ever earned a higher percentage), made significant inroads in Regina and Saskatoon (traditional NDP strongholds), and unseated NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter, who then resigned. That’s a rather remarkable achievement, considering Saskatchewan’s long infatuation with socialism, co-operative programs and universal health care."

[---]

"Wall’s measured support for fiscal conservatism and the private sector has real populist appeal in Saskatchewan. At the same time, the urban and rural sectors have both been pleased with their government’s balanced handling of the economy, and the province’s continuing success with potash, uranium, and oil and natural gas."

[---]

"In time, Saskatchewan’s long love affair with left-wing politics may just shut down completely."

[---]

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been doing the same thing. He strategically became the figurehead for Canadian conservatism, adjusted it, modified it, and re-branded it as a moderate — and heavily watered down — version of fiscal conservatism. My belief is this new political phenomenon, “Harpertism,” (which I plan to discuss in greater detail down the road) has changed the way many of us perceive conservatism as an ideological viewpoint. The PM’s informal 10-year plan to establish a conservative Canada is therefore well underway.

Wall’s populist conservatism is limited to one province. But the similarities in building a conservative Saskatchewan to the way conservatism was built in Alberta — and in Canada — are rather striking. Change is in the air, and the political wheat smells sweeter than it has ever been before."

You see, this province, and this country, have been soaking for so long we've turned into socialist pickles. It won't be easy to say for sure that we've rinsed the vinegar and salt right out. But sweet IS better. So much better.

Well, They're Starting To Notice...

...in other parts of Canada, in any case:

Tea leaves from Saskatchewan

"...the unprecedented landslide of the Saskatchewan Party, in the provincial election Monday, well beyond the expectations of the political experts, suggests the groundwork under Canadian politics is not as commonly understood. And the trend descried (sic), towards a "rejuvenated" NDP through the last federal election, may now have been exposed as flash-in-pan."

[---]

"...the NDP may be doomed by the nature of its recent successes, and we'll have Liberals back by a process of default. And I say this even though, at less than one per cent, the Liberals' showing in the Saskatchewan election suggests extinction."

I wouldn't get too excited about Saskatchewan's Liberal Party fortunes, or the lack thereof, in Monday's election. The provincial Liberals haven't been a force in this province since Ross Thatcher, way back when I was 20 years old. And cripes, in politics, that's a long, long time ago.

"It will be whichever two horses best represent the left and right hemispheres of the electoral brain, with the middle gone missing. (Along, we might argue, with a number of the necessary synapses.)"

That's what I've been thinking at lease since the May 2nd Federal election. We have, right here in Canada, the beginnings of the final showdown between the right and the left throughout Western Civilization. One of them's gonna win, and it ain't the left. After all, as I said before, the NDP in Saskatchewan represent the origins of socialism in North America, and I believe we're seeing the end of that movement right here where it was born. (Faster, please!)

"Here is a fiscally, and to some degree socially, conservative party, with a classic rural base, now successfully invading the cities. And doing so, not by watering its platform down, or adopting a few "urbane" postures, but by stressing the very points that made it popular in the outback.

And in Brad Wall, the bespectacled Saskatchewan Party leader, we have a man who has not cultivated, let alone acquired, the conventional political charisma. He is a municipal type from Swift Current, with amateur interests in country music and model rocketry, which may contribute to his mildly populist flavour.

The reputation he has acquired is for candour. He has freely and quickly admitted to every stupid move of his career, on which he has been called - from using an exaggerated Ukrainian accent to mock former premier Roy Romanow, to drinking government-paid liquor in an earlier department job.

This is important. As we see in the case of Herman Cain, in the U.S., and in many other recent cases, the "progressive" media and political operators of most stripes increasingly depend on personal smears to eliminate what they consider their most dangerous ideological opponents. Do not present yourself as a whited sepulchre, and they can't get you."

Yup. It's the revenge of the acned nerds. The elites are in retreat. You can tell by the din of their howling and wailing. But do read the rest. He makes a good case that what happened in Saskatchewan is a bellwether of times to come.

Another good article on the topic:

"On the issues, of nine tested, the Sask. Party was deemed best to manage on six, and tied on a seventh. The NDP and Greens each held one. The Sask. Party's issues headed the list for importance; the NDP's lone issue rated second last in importance."

Yup. Yesterday's party. Yesterday's ideas.

"The Sask. Party is poised to be the new natural governing party. With two-party contests, responsible government and strong leadership it could hold office for a long time."

Amen!

And finally: Sask. premier Wall muses on bill to force unions to disclose spending

We're off to the races, folks. Larry Hubick will be howling at the top of his lungs. All that money wasted on useless political ads. All those years spent in bed with Dippers. Oh, we're gonna see a new Saskatchewan, folks.

"Brad Wall said he's contemplating changes that would allow union members in the province to better scrutinize how their dues are spent.

In a move that may heighten already tense relations with the leadership of organized labour, Wall said any changes would be meant to provide greater accountability.

"We're not going to be looking for arguments but if there's opportunities to increase accountability and transparency for union members we're going to pursue those," Wall told reporters Tuesday, although he didn't release details or a timeline for the potential changes."

[---]

"The confirmation that he might consider legislative changes on the labour front came as Wall held a news conference to announce the Saskatchewan Party is fulfilling the first of its campaign pledges.

Wall's party captured 49 of 58 seats in the province's legislature and a historic 64 per cent of the popular vote Monday night.

In its first term, the Saskatchewan Party government regularly clashed with organized labour over new labour legislation, including changes to the trade union act and the introduction of an essential services law that prevents some public sector workers from striking."

[---]

"A legal action launched by the labour movement challenging the constitutionality of those two bills is set to play out in a Regina courtroom starting next week.

Larry Hubich, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, questioned what the premier is looking for on union spending, since unions generally have requirements in their constitution and bylaws already to provide members with annual audited financial statements."

[---]

"The premier and Sask. Party MLAs should sit down with the labour movement to discuss any concerns, said Hubich, who added that "perhaps the mechanisms are already in place to provide for the kind of transparency that he is suggesting doesn't exist."

"We recognize he's got a mandate. We recognize he's been elected," Hubich said. "We congratulate him on that. But that doesn't diminish his responsibility to deal with the organizations of working people in a respectful and professional way."

"Working people". Eat our shit, Larry Hubich. You and your goons.

I Feel Hung Over...

...this morning and I didn't have a drop to drink last night, even though the Sask Party victory was worth celebrating. Last night I was elated. This morning I'm just happy, but tired.

Sask Party takes over Saskatoon

"The NDP's 30-year stronghold on Saskatoon broke Monday night as Saskatchewan Party candidates, buoyed by unprecedented support at the ballot box, handed several veteran politicians losses in key urban constituencies.

The New Democrats won seven of 12 races in 2007 and have won the majority of the city's seats for the past 29 years.

Now, eight of the city's 12 seats belong to the Sask Party, another major breakthrough in urban ridings for a party that struggled to gain significant traction in cities since its forming in the late 1990s."
The NDP's 30-year stronghold on Saskatoon broke Monday night as Saskatchewan Party candidates, buoyed by unprecedented support at the ballot box, handed several veteran politicians losses in key urban constituencies.

The New Democrats won seven of 12 races in 2007 and have won the majority of the city's seats for the past 29 years.

Now, eight of the city's 12 seats belong to the Sask Party, another major breakthrough in urban ridings for a party that struggled to gain significant traction in cities since its forming in the late 1990s."

NDP loses key Saskatoon seats

"Judy Junor didn’t see the wave coming, but she realized as soon as the polls started to come in that she was going down to defeat as the Saskatchewan Party rolled into Saskatoon and scooped up three more seats in the provincial legislature.

“The first couple of polls that came in didn’t give me a good feeling and they just kept coming in really close and they kept coming in a little bit more and a little bit more. Those are polls that I canvassed. All those pink areas, I walked that. I shook those hands,” said Junor, gesturing to a map of Saskatoon Eastview posted on the wall at her campaign office on Monday night.

“This is not what I got on the doorstep. It sounded more positive than this. I’m surprised, but it’s so widespread.”

Junor shook her head in disbelief as she watched the results at the office surrounded by her family and friends.

Meanwhile at NDP headquarters at the Hilton Garden Inn, Junor’s volunteers were equally surprised.

“It’s kind of strange. It doesn’t seem real,” said Orion Morgan, as he posted the latest poll numbers on sheet on the wall showing Junor trailed the Saskatchewan Party’s Corey Tocher by more than 800 votes after 30 polls.

Junor was first elected as NDP MLA for the constituency in 1998. For nine of those 13 years, she served in government and held several junior portfolios. In opposition, she was caucus chair and critic for health and seniors. Junor, a former president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, holds a valid license as a registered nurse. She says she’ll be looking for new work."

Maybe there's a lesson here for unions, too.

"The three seats in Saskatoon lost by the NDP had long been considered strongholds for the party. It had held Saskatoon Meewasin since 1995, Saskatoon Eastview since 1988 and Saskatoon Fairview since 1986. Andy Iwanchuk, MLA since 2003 in Saskatoon Fairview, lost on Monday to the Sask. Party’s Jennifer Campeau."

Yup. The best news from yesterday's vote is that the iron curtain has lifted from our cities, at long last. Is the influence of our universities doing the way of the dinosaur? Sure hope so.