With 15 years on city council both as Mayor and elected councillor, I’ve had a lot of experience trying to represent the community while dealing with the provincial government. I’ve been frustrated and disappointed by some decisions of both NDP and Sask. Party in the years I was on city council. The province can impose its will and municipalities are forced to accept the consequences. Local citizens rely on MLAS of the governing party, if we have them, to voice our concerns and opposition to arbitrary negative decisions.
So as Moose Jaw residents go to vote in the 2020 provincial election, it’s important to consider not only the record of the current government but also the performance of local MLAs from the governing party to stand up and speak for Moose Jaw residents on important issues.
Over the past three terms of provincial government, we’ve had MLAs from the governing party who were not in cabinet. I believe this may be the only time in the past 50 years where we had MLAs from the governing party elected but had no representation in cabinet. They were judged not to be suitable or qualified. So, when decisions were made at the ministerial or cabinet level, negatively affecting Moose Jaw, our local MLAs were not there to be heard. They also apparently lacked the knowledge or capacity to consult and share with their municipal colleagues before announcements were made. Therefore, on numerous occasions elected city officials would have to respond to arbitrary policy decisions on shared municipal — provincial projects with no advance notice, no consultation or possible review.
Two major examples stand out. One was the arbitrary provincial decision to cut the provincial share of funding to the Wakamow Valley Authority. When established in the 1980s, Wakamow was a provincial municipal partnership enshrined in a act of the legislature with a shared governing structure and shared funding. This partnership remained for more than 30 years and the project had wide success and community support, but the province pulled out with no advance notice or consultation putting the future of the valley authority at risk. There was no warning or consultation to the community and local MLAs were silent and acquiescent. They failed to represent the community interest by speaking out in opposition to this unilateral backward step. Wakamow has had to try to survive and sharply reduced staff and services.
Another example of failed community support by the MLAs was on the issue of family housing units. Since 1953 the city province and federal government had shared public housing projects in a tri-level agreement enshrined by the Moose Jaw Housing Authority. In 1953, Moose Jaw initiated the first and largest social housing project in western Canada with the construction of 75 family housing units across the city. These neighbourhood-based units were close to schools and local services and were well used and maintained for over 65 YEARS, but the Saskatchewan government recently decided to sell them off and relocate families in multiple unit apartment complexes, mostly on the northern edge of the city, away from schools and community services. Again, there was no consultation with the city and the MLAs for the government did not support the community appeals to reverse this policy.
So, on election day, I would ask my fellow citizens to remember that the local government MLAs have failed to stand up for Moose Jaw. We need representatives that we can trust to stand with us as a community no matter who forms government.
-- Don Mitchell
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
