Voters across Canada tend to vote out governments rather than vote in new regimes with new ideas and better policies.
Opposition has two options: wait until voters tire of the same old, same old, or stir up criticism of the existing government to convince voters they have earned a shot at the brass ring.
The New Democratic Party Opposition in Saskatchewan, in this Scribbler’s opinion, has chosen the option to wait it out.
Granted, Opposition MLAs are small in numbers, but party MLAs were quite effective before.
Now the party seems to be missing the boat, concentrating criticism on non-disclosure of expenses by the premier and some cabinet ministers.
That non-disclosure, or high cost of disclosure, is an issue. No opposition MLA should have to pay for information on government business.
The focus on non-disclosure of expenses issue leaves a number of mainline issues out of the political debate.
Under the Saskatchewan Party Government, provincial debt has ballooned from $11 billion to $23 billion.
Taxpayers in Saskatchewan have always shuddered at high levels of public debt. Less debt is an issue very dear to them. The doubling of debt by a government that promised to reduce debt when first elected should be a natural issue resonating with voters.
When the former NDP government messed up on the potato chip industry with Spudco, the Saskatchewan Party Opposition never missed an opportunity to bring up the issue.
Persevering on the debt issue should be a hallmark of the NDP.
Plenty of other issues exist on which to criticize the Saskatchewan Party Government.
The Global Transportation Hub (GTH) scandal was never fully resolved even though RCMP said they didn’t have enough evidence to lay charges.
Lack of success by the GTH is another issue.
The network of overpasses and the ring road around Regina, mushrooming from $500 million to $1.8 billion deserves closer examination.
The project was touted as a safety measure but was really intended to service what became a less than successful GTH development.
A newer scandal in the making centers on a fund to develop entrepreneurship in First Nations and Métis communities.
From information made public, this fund looks as if it was most beneficial to some Saskatchewan Party supporters.
NDP leader Ryan Meili justly complained about the overpass/ring road project being awarded to out-of-county contractors.
His complaints about the SaskPower natural gas co-generation plant award to U.S. companies border on the silly.
Co-generation plants, unlike overpasses and ring roads, are highly specialized operations. Few companies have the capacity to build one.
Meili, or his organizers, showed a lack of knowledge about the industry with this criticism.
Effective opposition and winning power requires strong organization.
The NDP organization leaves much to be desired.
Anyone who has ever glanced at a political campaign how-to primer understands time is a powerful tool in winning elections.
A candidate nominated a year before the election has lots of time to become better known and to build an organization. The effectiveness of organization in election wins is well documented.
Early nominations ease the panic if a snap election is called.
As the rumours of a snap spring election grew, the NDP had less than half the ridings with candidates nominated.
This opposition still has to show voters it deserves their support.
All of Saskatchewan loses with this situation. The most effective government occurs when a strong Opposition, ready to govern, is in place.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@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.
