"Premier Romanow has provided a provincial wide philosophy and leadership of downsizing everything; in fact, he has downsized health care, has downsized highways, has downsized crown corporations, has downsized agriculture, has downsized education, in conclusion he has put people out of work and out of the province."

And Timothy Shire, Editor of Ensign, has recently stated

"Implement the Fyke report and all that will remain on Saskatchewan prairies will be the grave sites of those who once lived here(1)."

And now that I read the report 'State of the West(2)' by Robert Roach, a policy analyst for the Canada West Foundation, I realize how perspective I have been in naming our leaders as our Big Brains. These Big Brains have consistently provided solutions to our social and economic predicament by reactionary economic policies of downsizing, with special interest in the reactionary downsizing of rural Saskatchewan. Roach says that between 1972 and 1999, Saskatchewan suffered a net loss of 155,181 residents, or roughly 15% of its population, to other provinces(3). And what is more frightening is that while the population of Saskatchewan has remained practically constant at about 1,000,000 people for more than half century, Roach confirms that Saskatchewan is the only western province with a population that is projected to shrink during the next 25 years(4).

Now, as our largest cities have been experiencing a population growth, I just want the readers imagine what will be happening to rural Saskatchewan if the Fyke's report is going to be implemented at the time when our Aboriginal people are projected to double their population in less than 30 years. And as I am concerned, I see the implementation of the Fyke's report as a further infrastructure set up by our Big Brains' tacit self-fulfilling prophecy to Shrink Saskatchewan to Greatness.

References/endnotes

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

1. The Future of Medicare and of Saskatchewan, by Timothy Shire, April 20, 2001 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/healthnurse/medicareFuture/medicarefuture.html

2. State of the West, key findings, Robert Roach, Loleen Berdahl, April 2001, Canada West Foundation www.cwf.ca

3. Economic gap growing in the West, James Cudmore, April 20, 2001 National Post http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20010420/538389.html

4. Shrink wrap encases Sask. population: report, by Shannon Boklaschuk, April 20, 2001,The StarPhoenix, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan