"...On April 26, 1982 the Progressive Conservative Party led by Grant Devine swept to power in Saskatchewan... Free enterprise was to replace socialism... After eight years of the Devine Government, Saskatchewan's economy is stagnant, and a crippling deficit has accumulated... Perhaps most disturbingly, there has been an undermining of the practice of democratic government and there is less respect for the rights of minorities and the disadvantaged..."

I bought the above book in 1991 before Honourable Roy Romanow(2) took power as premier of Saskatchewan for the winning New Democratic Party (NDP). I was really dismayed at the incompetence of the Devine's government and I could not believe that in North America we could have job creation by implementing legislation allowing governmental gasoline rebates and governmental matching grant to renovate our homes.

Certainly I was happy when the NDP party came to power, and I was looking forward to Roy Romanow's promise for the renewal of Saskatchewan. But I became disappointed, when later I realized that Roy Romanow was a reactionary man of deception, a man who said something and did something else, and what was worse, the people have been buying what he has been saying. This Premier Romanow has been really amazing in fooling the lives of all the people, except his friends: the few and privileged.

I have expressed my political point of view, that in this corrupt political environment, there is no left or right, no socialism or free enterprise. And I want to tell our readers that our social nationalist Roy Romanow's report card is full of it. Roy Romanow wanted to portray himself as a do-goodder and the saviour of Saskatchewan(3) and he even convinced our media to believe that the past conservative administration was perhaps the most corrupt administration in the history of Canada(4). And I tell you my readers, that Mr. Romanow didn't look himself in the mirror! And even today, when he states that "my regret in leaving public life is that we did not move quickly enough to improve the lives of Metis and First Nations people in our province(5)" he still refuses to look himself in the mirror. And the media and the demented university researchers are still in love with Premier Romanow when they say "We're a happy lot... despite disparity in incomes(6)"

For the record, Premier Romanow has been lying all along his premiership(7). And Premier Romanow has not reduced the provincial debt(8)! And for the record, Saskatchewan has just experienced the highest increase in CPI across Canada(9) and the second lowest increase in GDP(10). And for the record, Saskatchewan young people are leaving the province(11). And for the record, Saskatchewan has the worst record in crime, in poverty, in infant mortality, in health care, in education, in the delivery of justice.

In summary, Saskatchewan has the worst record in having a divided society, where the few and privileged play their game of the survival of the fittest at the expense of anybody else.

 Notwithstanding this social damage, our notwithstanding Premier Roy Romanow had the courage in the last election to run not for his past 'accomplishments' but against the alternative. This has been our Premier Romanow's legacy and our Saskatchewan's renewal. Who was better or who was worse, Grant Devine or Roy Romanow? Figure it out.

References/endnotes

Relevant political and economics articles http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign

1. Devine Rule in Saskatchewan, Lesley Biggs and Mark Stobbe, Editors, Fifth House Publishers, 1991, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

2. Honourable Roy Romanow, Q.C., He created the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission; he introduced a Saskatchewan Human Rights Code; he created the Provincial Ombudsman's Office, and he co-authored the book 'Canada Notwithstanding' http://www.executive.gov.sk.ca/min_bios/40121.htm

3. Premier reveals Saskatchewan flirted with bankruptcy: Undisclosed federal bailout averted crisis in 1993, David Roberts, The Globe and Mail, March 22, 1997 http://www.cs.unb.ca/~alopez-o/politics/GandMarticle.html

4. Saskatchewan Tories leave sorry legacy, by MARTIN O'HANLON -- The Canadian Press, February 26, 1999 http://www.acmi.canoe.ca/CNEWSPolitics9902/26_tories.html

5. Premier launches comprehensive aboriginal employment program: Outgoing leader regrets not doing enough for Metis, First Nations, by Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix, January 19, 2001, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

6. SP SPECIAL REPORT: We're a happy lot: Optimism reigns despite disparity in incomes, poll finds, By Gerry Klein, January 20, 2001, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

7. Premier Romanow's Speech to the 1998 Provincial NDP Convention http://saskndp.com/speech/con98.php3

8. Premier Roy Romanow and Minister of Finance Eric Cline: Cheating the Electorate by Fragmenting Government's Accountability, by Mario deSantis, October 12, 2000 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/2000_200/desantis237/ProvDebt.html

9. The Daily, January 18, 2001, Statistics Canada, The Consumer Price Index, December 2000 http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010118/d010118.pdf

10. The Daily: October 30, 2000, Statistics Canada, Growth slowed in Saskatchewan http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/001030/d001030a.htm

11. Labour force characteristics for both sexes, aged 15 and over, Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, January 5, 2001 http://www.statcan.ca/english/Subjects/Labour/LFS/lfs-en.htm