As the world attempts to come to grips with the COVID-19 pandemic, our economic future is in jeopardy. People have lost their jobs and many businesses are on the verge of bankruptcy. Formerly employed people are sitting at home wondering what’s going to happen to their families and careers. Our legislators have responded with subsidies from the public coffers which are creating a mounting debt load that will eventually have to be reconciled. This is a real and difficult dilemma. Strong and courageous leadership is sorely needed.
WE ONLY HAVE A PART-TIME GOVERNMENT
Unfortunately, we only have a part-time government at the moment. Normally the full legislature is obligated to sit for 45 days. Presently our government has voted to reduce that number to 14 days. Additionally they have only had 1/3 of the elected members actually in attendance during this drastically shortened schedule. If there was ever a time when we needed extra effort from those who we elect to manage and protect our interests it is now. It is hard to fathom how these needs for leadership and direction can be fulfilled when our leaders choose to vacate their jobs for more than half the time available while still collecting salaries for full time attendance. No business model we can think of would succeed with this policy.
WE NEED FULL-TIME LEADERSHIP
It is frustrating to many when we observe our legislators telling us to re-open barber shops, tattoo and massage parlors, bars and restaurants along with retail facilities while they withdraw from service by agreeing to meet for 14 days out of their entire working schedule due to concerns over Covid. To cite recommendations from health authorities as the reason to suspend the activities of government in order to comply with these recommendations is not just contradictory and confusing, it also appears to be blatantly hypocritical.
ANSWERS ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED
Now more than ever we have a critical need for clear guidance, direction and intervention on the part of our elected and appointed officials. There are a number of critical issues with critical timelines which must be addressed now. For example, the education system is told they are to ramp up preparations to re-open schools without clear interpretation of guidelines or the associated resources needed to re-open safely. We note that environments where people gather together in larger numbers are the ‘hot zones’ for transmission. Bars and restaurants can provide some form of social distancing, but it is apparent that these are locations where PPE cannot be used by patrons while receiving the services these businesses provide. It is now clear that this kind of environment has proven to be the cause for the numerous instances of the localized spreading of Corona. Our government has not been attending to these unfolding lessons as they are not even on the job at this time.
OUR CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE - THEY NEED PROTECTION
Focusing on schools, a number of obvious and potentially dangerous scenarios emerge. For example, what are the realistic expectations that PPE can be mandated with kindergarten and primary school students, not to mention the middle school populations? Most teachers will tell you that enforcing rules of any kind can be full of challenges with any developing age group. Furthermore, who will be ensuring that effective sanitization of equipment and facilities for multiple classrooms are being done multiple times each day? The current custodial staff in our schools would need to double at the very least. Who will pay for this? The traditional approach taken by government in recent years has been to restrict and reduce funding for education. Teachers are constantly being asked to do more with less and have been at the bottom of the priority list for any review of their remuneration contracts. What about the school washrooms? With many public washrooms presently off-limits, it would seem that conflicting regulations or recommendations are causing further confusion. The present government’s implied attitude toward the education system is evident in their policies and record. It is best described as reprehensible.
EFFECTIVE EXAMPLING IS ABSENT
We see an ‘ostrich’ mentality pervading our leadership in these critical times. The optics are poor and speak loudly as to the real priorities of our present government. Public service demands a sacrificial philosophy from those we elect and financially support. So far, the only thing being sacrificed is the future financial status of our country and our province. We have no clear examples either being provided or often even suggested as to how we need to be functioning in this unusual time. We are forced to draw our own conclusions about how we should be protecting ourselves and most of the time based only on anecdotal evidence. Most people in Saskatchewan think the COVID-19 pandemic is overblown simply because they have no direct experience with any victims. This breeds a false sense of security when we see so many other parts of the continent dealing with escalating infection rates as economies begin to re-open. Some health experts have commented that there are three facets to the effects from the pandemic. There is the threat to one’s physical health, the added financial stress brought about as a result of employment interruptions, and the resultant depression and anxiety which in itself is a real and debilitating phenomenon. One wonders what it will take to get the attention of those who are responsible and provide clear direction in light of these harsh realities.
THE CHICKENS WILL RETURN TO ROOST
The solution to all of these problems is admittedly elusive. However, it would be refreshing to hear from our leaders how they propose to address these concerns. We acknowledge that the provincial budget has been severely impacted by a nation-wide productivity slowdown, combined with pre-existing resource sector falling revenues. When we add the CERB and other subsidies into the mix, we have a significant fiscal disaster looming over our heads. Some point out that there is no answer to this dilemma but to borrow from the future. This means that financial recovery can only be secured through increased taxation or rampant inflation. As a result, some who study this situation suggest we prepare for the GST to increase significantly along with other forms of taxation by this time next year. Unfortunately, this kind of honest disclosure is not politically safe. We should not expect the current government to prepare us for the economic recovery process by communicating potentially unpopular messages. Why do we not hear from our governing authorities as to whether or not they acknowledge these concerns and what steps they are taking to address them? Could it be that they themselves are frightened for their political futures in a post-pandemic world?
THE COST OF MISMANAGEMENT
The pattern of fiscal irresponsibility has been present in our province for several years. There is a litany of mysterious behavior from provincial and civic authorities which has resulted in serious economic harm suffered by more than one group. In an on-going pursuit for government action, transparency and accountability some have repeatedly echoed the need for light to be shed on examples of government mismanagement which has had adverse effects on individuals. We rank as one of several taxpaying business owners who have suffered at the hands of indifferent and partisan members of the present government. We have had long and similar experience with the afore-mentioned ‘ostrich’ approach to dealing with the failure of government to listen to our concerns. We seem to lack the connections and influence needed to be heard and taken seriously. When our elected authorities make decisions that demonstrate favoritism toward the interests of a select group of well-connected individuals at the expense of others who suffer from the lack of these connections, the resulting consequences are not pretty.
We continue to demand answers to our long-standing concerns over the litany of inexplicable financial decisions made by our provincial government over the last few years.
There has never been a greater need for accountability now that we have so many challenges before us to our economic recovery. While Covid is rampant throughout the world, it has served to draw attention to how things are being managed by that same governing body. Long before Covid created these fiscal challenges, the mishandling and extraordinary cost overruns for the largest infrastructure project in our province’s history (the New Highway #1 Regina Bypass and the G.T.H.) had already placed a disproportionate burden on Saskatchewan taxpayers. The financial hole we must dig out of is now several generations deep into our future.
A VACCINE IS AVAILABLE
The difference with these two forms of virus is important to emphasize. The ‘vaccine’ to protect us from fiscal mismanagement is actually within our ability to produce. All that is needed is a Public Judicial Inquiry and a Forensic Audit into the land acquisitions and contractor awards associated with this project. Strong and courageous leadership would not shy away from dealing with all the issues we have identified in this commentary.
However, it would appear that the sitting government feels the cure to this pandemic is worse than the disease. We on the other hand, do not agree. The time for part-time and partisan government is over.
Change is desperately needed.
Submitted by Kelly Black; Article supplied by Nestor Mryglod; Email: nlmryglod@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
