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Our leadership has lost track of what healthier communities are and it is continuing in its economic policy directions to save money at any cost, and subsequently centralize bigger bureaucracies in urban centres and kill rural Saskatchewan in this process(1). Our government uses phony statistics to show the economic progress of the province(2), uses technical experts to support its agenda on municipal amalgamation(3), and uses ivory-tower controllers to save money in health care(4).

We must all understand that the obsession for this government for saving money is only a mask to camouflage its failures in creating wealth and sustain healthier communities. Also, we must all understand that we create wealth and sustain healthier communities when we are allowed to express our voices and our feelings in our work, in our communities and in our business relationships. Therefore, we must understand that the pursuing of individual rights to remedy a wrong is a fundamental exercise of democracy.

Our government is phony(5), and as a consequence, under the banner of "saving money" it is now enacting paper legislation which will prevent future lawsuits against Crown-owned SaskWater. SaskWater was involved in the bankruptcy of the Lake Diefenbaker Potato Corp. (LDPC) and Mark Langefeld, former CEO of LDPC, has recently stated that the Saskatchewan government was told last Fall that LDPC's owners would look at their legal options to recover damages from SaskWater(6).

Allan McIntyre, a Regina lawyer, has commented that it appears the law applies to everything done in "good faith" by SaskWater, past and future. Richard Truscott, of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, has said that SaskWater is "covering what's left of their exposed behinds... If the government hadn't gotten involved in this crazy misadventure in the first place, they wouldn't be scurrying to cover their butts now." So, this is one way the government creates wealth in Saskatchewan, sitting in its assets(7) and protecting these assets by paper legislation on behalf of all the people who sit on their assets and against the individual rights of all the people.

Where is your good faith for enacting any legislation Premier Romanow?

Endnotes

Quote by Donella Meadows "challenging a paradigm is not a part-time job. It is not sufficient 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 North Central Internet News

1. Premier Romanow's Government: The Obsession of Saving Money Versus Building Healthier Communities, by Mario deSantis, March 21, 2000

2. Don't trust statistics, don't trust Honourable MacKinnon, trust yourself, by Mario deSantis, February 10, 2000

3. An Expression of Democracy: "Are you in favour of forced municipal amalgamation?" By Mario deSantis, March 29, 2000

4. Ken Hutchinson: Assessing the last asset of the Regina District Health Board, by Mario deSantis, April 9, 2000

5. 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

6. Bill would hinder potato suit, by Gord Brock, April 14, 2000, The Leader-Post, Regina, Saskatchewan

7. Refer to the picture of Minister of Health Eric Cline sitting on the 2000-2001 budget, by Timothy Shire, Editor of Ensign