By Mario deSantis January 19, 1999

On Friday , January 15, the StarPhoenix of Saskatoon reported the following headline Y2K nightmare: Health district faces $30-million bill to prepare for 2000. On Saturday, the same newspaper reports the headline Y2K menu downloads cash crisis: Saskatchewan health districts face $100-million computer upgrade.

A number of our healthcare politicians and district health board spokespersons like to be popular and bombastic. At the Saskatoon Health District, the top brass' train of thought can be characterized in this way "Well... let us say we need $30-million to fix the Y2K nitghtmare... maybe we are lucky and get only $10 from the government, $30 million minus $10 million is about $20 million, that is we are going to have a saving of taxpayers' money in the order of $20 million... isn't this a deal for the Saskatchewan people?".

Our leaders love to be popular, be able to use cliches such as "individualism" versus "socialism" to hide their ignorance to deal with today's matters, and affirm their leadership qualities by appearing charismatic, decisive in their policy making, throwing fat numbers along with healthcare Information Technology Megaprojects to the public, and making sure that all people rally around the so called socialist leaders, not to save medicare or hospital care, but to save the province from the Y2K nightmare. That is the goal of our politicians, the rallying of people for a socialist just cause, today's Y2K nightmare, yesterday "SHIN" and "Stargarden payroll", tomorrow "Healthcare payroll", what's next?

Let us hope to stop this political management nightmare, where individual rights are curtailed, gambling is practised, legislation is ignored, conflicts of interests are endemic, and where discrimination, be racial or economic, is institutionalized. As usual let us hope for better times.