Dear Editor:
Who should pay the price for government mismanagement and waste? Todd MacKay, of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation apparently thinks it should be public service workers and the families and communities they serve (LP Nov. 29, 2016).
Instead of taking aim at the frontline workers who deliver the services Saskatchewan people rely on, those looking for savings should focus on the reckless and irresponsible spending at the top.
The public service has already been through deep cuts. Government has eliminated almost 2,000 full-time jobs from its workforce since 2010. Today, far too many positions remain vacant, putting pressure on needed services.
It’s easy to call for cuts and rollbacks to the public service. It’s a lot harder to live without the services that public employees deliver.
Most people would agree that it is important to have experienced, qualified staff on the job when and where they are needed. Most of us want to have reliable snow plow operators clearing our highways, professional corrections officers keeping our communities safe, and dedicated social workers who struggle every day to care for and support vulnerable children and families.
Instead of attacking the people on the frontlines, it makes more sense to demand better fiscal management from a government that has squandered revenues from an unprecedented resource boom.
The Sask. Party government wasted $40 million on LEAN initiatives, and increased spending on outside consultants by 228 per cent over five years, for a total of $120 million. It is turning over an estimated $25 million a year in liquor sale profits to private companies by selling off public stores. The government increased spending on its Executive Council staff by 75 per cent since it took power. And, who knows how much taxpayers will have to fork out to cover the millions made by private businesses in the Global Transportation Hub land scandal.
The financial mismanagement comes from the top, and that’s where changes need to be made – not on the frontlines, where public employees deliver the essential services that Saskatchewan people count on every day.
Sid Wonitowy,
Yorkton, SK
