Scott Moe surprised a lot of voters when he won the Saskatchewan Party leadership in 2018 on the fifth ballot.
The Shellbrook farmer was a compromise. Party members decided they didn't want either the urbane Ken Cheveldayoff from Saskatoon or the bureaucrat Alanna Koch.
Unlike some other compromise candidates, federal Conservative choices Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole, Moe performed what might be expected from a right wing leader, not exciting but stable.
One exception has been his use of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a whipping boy to deflect attention and blame from the Saskatchewan government.
In his first acid test of leadership during initial stages of the pandemic Moe seemed to be doing a good job.
Until he refused to accept advice from the medical community and until he sat on the fence during the discussion of the need to get vaccinated.
Apparently the fence wasn’t a traditional barbed-wire kind, or was it?
The premier jumped off the fence and out of line with most voters when he said he wants Saskatchewan to become a nation state, the same as Quebec.
Wanting nation status is like entering a snake den. If Saskatchewan gets nation status will all of the First Nations councils, the Metis Federation and other ethnic groups demand nation-within-nation status?
First our three per cent of Canada’s population must convince the rest of Canada we are worthy of nation status.
Being landlocked as we are poses challenges to getting our products out of the new Saskatchewan nation without co-operation from neighbours.
Perhaps the premier sees the United States as an ally to the new nation state, having first asked U.S. states for help with the pandemic rather than accepting offers from the federal Liberal government.
Operating with as much autonomy as Moe wants — our own tax collection system, our own police force, and our own immigration policy — is totally opposed to beliefs the Saskatchewan Party has represented.
This party wants to reduce taxes and the number of government jobs. When Moose Jaw complained about loss of government jobs, both Sask. Party MLAs of the time made it clear they are in the business of reducing government payrolls.
The cost of collecting our own income taxes would create jobs but is contrary to Sask. Party policy of cutting the civil service.
A provincial police service is another expensive scheme. Provincial police forces are subject to political interference: one reason why the province disbanded the force we once had.
Nor would a police force built from scratch be equipped to fight national-wide and international crime
A provincially controlled immigration plan raises the prospect of political interference and selective immigration from chosen countries.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
