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After the building of the Synchrotron's mausoleum and the planned economic diversification of rural Saskatchewan with the production hogs and hamburger patties, it is now the time for this government to accelerate the pace for the depletion of our resources. In fact, as our most indigent and weakest segment of our population are being ignored and the education of our children takes second place to our evidence based researches of our sold out scientists, our regressive primary economy is becoming one of our main economic driver for the future of the province. Therefore, the government has fired the entire board and president of the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) because they refused to make changes requested by oil companies(1). The 15 fired board members were informed by fax from Energy and Mines Minister Eldon Lautermilch who thanked them "for their years of service and dedication to the SRC and the citizens of Saskatchewan."(2)

The SRC's board was afraid that small business and agricultural research would suffer with the new obsession with the oil and gas industry, an obsession aggravated by the recent increases in oil price and the recent hiring of former deputy premier Dwain Lingenfelter by Canadian Occidental Petroleum(3). In justifying the firing of the entire board and president of the SRC, Lautermilch has stated that the oil and gas sector makes up nine per cent of the provincial economy and growing. Also, Lautermich has stated that there was the need of a change in leadership, and in an effort to extend the Sap-ping(4) of our primary economic sector has appointed a three-member interim board composed of an oil company president, a vice-president of SaskEnergy and a bureaucrat from Saskatchewan Energy and Mines. Lautermich has reassured the business and research community that there will be "no further shakeup" planned at the SRC, although he has also announced a review of its mandate.

We congratulate our government and Honourable Eldon Lautermilch, for furthering the sapping of Saskatchewan on behalf of the oil and gas corporations.

References/Endnotes

Articles by Mario deSantis

1. Gov't tosses out entire SRC board: Lautermilch called a 'thug' after shakeup at research council, by Jason Warick, The StarPhoenix, October 6, 2000. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

2. NEW SRC BOARD, Government of Saskatchewan News Release, October 5, 2000. Energy and Mines - 613 http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/2000/10/05-613.html

3. Honourable Dwain Lingenfelter: Love for money stronger than love for politics, by Mario deSantis, July 14, 2000 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/2000/desantis193/Lingenfelter.html

4. Our leaders can't recognize an asset from a hole in the ground, by Mario deSantis, December 2, 1999 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/desantis90/SAP.html