The province of Saskatchewan seems to be the place people from other provinces like to make fun of; but, I personally am very proud to be from here. Having gone to school in Alberta my pride in this province grew as I was constantly ribbed about being a stubble jumper or how I could watch my dog run away for three days because it is so utterly flat. As soon as someone found out I was from Saskatchewan this is what occurred despite the fact that most of Alberta looks just like Saskatchewan.
In their minds I was a socialist farmer and that was that. Ultimately they made fun of what they saw was a living contradiction. Farmers are, apparently, inherently conservative; yet, the history of this province leans towards the left. Healthcare through Tommy Douglas, liquor stores being owned by the province, SaskPower, Sasktel, and even the driver's education class offered in Saskatchewan is simply included in the curriculum.
Anyway you look at it Saskatchewan is strongly steeped in socialist ideals, which actually makes sense. I was told while away at school in Alberta that farmers are supposed to be conservative, after all look at Alberta, a shining example.
To this statement I kind of laughed. In my mind farmers are very much socialist in nature in the sense that they work together to get things done. It was a community effort to accomplish all of the tasks on one's personal farm many years ago. If you finished your work then often you would help another in need.
The history of the province so enmeshed within rural life is part of the reason, in my opinion, Tommy Douglas' healthcare legacy grew and how Saskatchewan developed over the years.
The growing feeling of Saskatchewan to me, however, seems to be a complete overhaul of what the stereotypical resident of Saskatchewan is and this is largely due to the Saskatchewan Party being in power. Obviously they were elected to government and a solid amount of residents feel that the Saskatchewan Party best represents them, so maybe Saskatchewan is just simply changing to align with the new demographic.
I was always told not to talk about politics, but in my opinion they should be talked about, granted over the dinner table maybe isn't the proper place for it. Yet, dialogue is the only way to become more informed. How else are you to learn or educate yourself about the issues than to have discussions with people who may not be like minded, but are at least open minded?
My own beliefs lie more to the left wing of politics; but, each to their own. This is the beauty of living in a democracy where there are multiple parties that may not encompass your exact beliefs, but will come close to them.
The free country we live in also lets me discuss the government openly. I'm able to both critique the government, while still able to find positives in the way the right side of the spectrum approaches issues as well.
I am young and I would consider myself partially informed on political issues. I know what's going on with some topics; while others I have a small amount of knowledge or none at all. This job has helped me become better educated in regards to all parties and some of the issues coming forth through disagreements between the Government and the Opposition.
In regards to the changing Saskatchewan that I see happening is a trend towards privatization. In my mind, and like I say I am young and am not overly involved in politics, I see this as a costly move on part of the government.
The right wing typically likes privatized business and industry. In general, any right winged party will be against governments actually owning businesses and anything involved with the word socialist. Socialist being closely associated if not the same thing to many people. This is in fact not true; socialism and communism have key differences, but I digress as I am getting off topic.
Overall I see crown corporations like SaskPower, Sasktel, and even the Liquor Board Stores and think that's a great idea. In theory would this not mean that our provincial government is making money outside of taxes allowing them to possibly tax the general public less or create more capital in order to provide more funding to public services such as health care and education?
If this is the case, then why begin creating private liquor stores or pursue the public-private partnership (P3) plans. I do understand this is a commitment to have the public and private sectors working more closely together; but, does this mean they are slowly inching towards full privatization of sectors? Are they moving slowly, yet, strategically towards a more privatized Saskatchewan? If so, what does that actually mean for our province?
Has the socialist farmer become a thing of the past? And what is the social attitude of Saskatchewan today? The influx of people to the province is positive, it means that we're growing and prospering; but, is this changing the Saskatchewan identity?
