By Mario deSantis, February 24, 2000

We have written many articles on social and economic issues affecting Saskatchewan and we came to the conclusion that our political, bureaucratic and economic environment is corrupted to the extent to include our police forces and justice systems(1). That is corruption is rampant, racism is endemic, and the economic direction of this government has been focused on behalf of the few and privileged(2) with the result that our people are divided(3) and our children are being deprived of their lives(4).

Our government has taken no responsibility for any social and economic problems affecting the province, and in a natural fashion typical of an inept leadership, has been blaming the federal government for the crisis in healthcare, the crisis in farming, the crisis in education and the crisis in research funding. The federal government in turn has not performed that better either, and the recent Human Resources Development Canada-HRDC scandal(5) has deepened our cynicism against our politicians and has prompted journalist Marie-Josee Kravis to say "how can we trust a government that is not responsible(6)" We cannot trust our governments, we cannot trust our police forces, we cannot trust the justice system, we are only left in trusting ourselves. Our country is divided socially, economically, geographically, and politically. Therefore, even the electoral democratic process will not be enough to remedy this state of alienation among people and their governments(7).

When governments not only don't take responsibilities for their mishandling and misappropriation of public money but they are proud of it, when police forces and the justice systems are corrupted, and when our own people are divided, then our democracy becomes a farce. And, there is no democracy when you cannot find remedies to correct the continuous breaking of our social and private contracts.

The roots for the disintegration of our social fabric are multiple, and in this respect I would like you, readers, to ponder the widespread philosophies of "not rocking the boat(8)" or "what's in it for me(9)" and the corporate philosophy of "management by intimidation(10)(11)". But what is worse is the continuation of the widespread juridical philosophy of negating human rights(12) to our citizens while hypocritically preaching them in the United Nations.

I am a simple man as everybody else, and as a simple man I acquire a better understanding of my experiences when I continuously think and reflect about them. Therefore, I would like you to think about the deep implications of the statement made by former Saskatchewan prosecutor and MLA Serge Kujawa "It doesn't matter if Milgaard is innocent... The whole judicial system is at issue, it is worth more than one person(13)" No Mr. Kujawa, it mattered that Milgaard was innocent, and as a simple man I can tell you, your colleague Premier Roy Romanow(14), and all your friends of the legal community, that human rights are fundamental rights to be defended by any whole judicial system.

Endnotes

General reference: Articles by Mario deSantis published by North Central Internet News http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/authors/desantis.html

1. Our Saskatchewan Justice System is Rotten to the Core, by Mario deSantis, February 19, 2000

2. A World for the Few and Privileged in Saskatchewan, by Mario deSantis, February 18, 2000

3. Few Words on the Synchrotron, Politics and Education in Saskatchewan, by Mario deSantis, April 4, 1999

4. Saskatchewan Troubled Children: 40% of our school children, by Mario deSantis, January 14, 2000

5. PM comfortable using grants for partisan reasons 'Nothing to be ashamed', Andrew McIntosh and Joel-Denis Bellavance, National Post, February 19, 2000. Funds to create jobs have been disbursed to numbered companies, to companies which went bankrupt after receiving the money, to companies which didn't meet the prerequisites. The Prime Minister has stated "What strikes me is that no recipient has complained thus far" http://www.nationalpost.com

6. The questions of the HRDC scandal. How can we trust a government that is not responsible? By Marie-Josee Kravis, National Post, February 11, 2000 http://www.nationalpost.com

7. Human Resources Development Canada: Democracy for sale at the highest bidder, by Mario deSantis, February 13, 2000

8. Saskatoon police officer accuses fellow officers of racism CBC Saskatchewan. Constable Charlene Lavallee is Metis, and has been a special constable with the Saskatoon force for 6 years. She has stated "I think there's racism towards all the aboriginal officers, and it's kind of in the context of you got to fit in, or you won't be here. You've got to conform. And if you make waves, we'll make it rough." She's launched a Human Rights complaint against Saskatoon's Board of Police Commissioners. http://sask.cbc.ca/ Web Posted | Feb 22 2000 9:42 PM EST

9. Let Us Lead To Higher Ground! By Alexia Clary, MANAGEMENT GENERAL http://www.mgeneral.com/3-now/99-now/022499ac.htm

10. Intimidation: Management style at Saskatoon District Health, by Mario deSantis, January 27, 2000

11. Reprint of the letter dated May 7, 1997 from McKercher McKercher & Whitmore directed to DigiCare Systems Group, attention of Mario deSantis. Replica constructed by Mario deSantis. http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-letters-McKercher-deSantis-May97.htm

12. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948 http://www.hrweb.org/legal/udhr.html

13. A Mother's Story: The Fight To Free My Son David, by Joyce Milgaard with Peter Edwards, Doubleday Canada Limited, 1999, page 251-- David Milgaard spent 23 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

14. Premier Roy Romanow and former MLA Serge Kujawa have been close associates in the administration of justice in Saskatchewan dating back to the 70s. Roy Romanow was one of the key players in the federal-provincial negotiations which resulted in the Constitutional Accord of November, 1981. In 1984, he co-authored a book on those negotiations, Canada Notwithstanding. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission http://www.gov.sk.ca/bios/premier.htm