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Murray Madryk has been labelling Saskatchewan as a mouseland, and I have recently upgraded this labelling to phonyland. I don't know what is going to happen next, but for certain we are living in a state of utter confusion, where our governmental agencies break the laws, where our researchers are paid a lot of money for putting out senseless studies, where our governmental ministers play the numbers games, and where people are disconcerted on what is happening. Even the opposition party appears to be confused and can't distinguish between a "gag order" and the breaking of the law.

I will explain now what I mean. Premier Roy Romanow has led this province to desperate social conditions for a large segment of our population(1), has turned health care to a gambling casino, and now we have the CUPE union calling on Romanow to lead a national crusade to save medicare(2). We have unmasked our Premier Romanow, and we have found that our emperor wears no clothes(3). Therefore, I can only say that Romanow's followers are blind, that they are deaf, and that they have the strong voice of the herd mentality.

Out of this social pandemonium, we have a good man coming out of nowhere; he is Bernie Bishop, a board member of the Living Sky Health District. This health district has submitted to the Minister of Health Pat Atkinson an operating plan that calls for the closure of the hospital in Lanigan, and for the downgrading of two other health-care centres(4). Bernie Bishop went against a governmental directive to keep the operating plan secretive and in a letter directed to his local newspaper he disclosed the plan of his district to close the hospitals.

Bishop has stated that the plan was not presented to the entire board for discussion, and that the plan was never presented in a public meeting. Pat Atkinson has confirmed that the government told board members to keep their operating plans confidential, and as a consequence, Saskatchewan Party health critic Rod Gantefoer has accused the government of placing a gag order on the Living Sky Health District. Rod Gantefoer is a bit confused himself, we are not dealing with gag orders here, we are dealing with the pure breaking of the Health Districts Act(5), and we must thank Bernie Bishop for letting us know about it.

Endnotes

Quote by Donella Meadows "challenging a paradigm is not a part-time job. It is not sufficient to make your point once and then blame the world for not getting it. The world has a vested interest in, a commitment to, not getting it. The point has to be made patiently and repeatedly, day after day after day" ftp://sysdyn.mit.edu/ftp/sdep/Roadmaps/RM1/D-4143-1.pdf http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf/meadows/default.htm

General reference: Articles by Mario deSantis published by Ensign h

1. Social crisis looming in Sask., Haverstock says, by Joanne Paulson, The StarPhoenix, May 10, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

2. CUPE wants Romanow to lead medicare crusade, by James Parker, The StarPhoenix, May 10, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

3. Premier Romanow: A Jackass Makes Phony Peace With The Saskatchewan Nurses, by Mario deSantis, August 31, 1999 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-Jackass-Aug31-99.htm

4. Health boards gagged by NDP, says Sask. Party, by James Parker, The StarPhoenix, May 10, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

5. The Health Districts Act, Saskatchewan Legislature, 1993. Section 37(2): "...the district health board shall present... an operation and expenditure plan for the next fiscal year..."