The Editor:
Having lived many years in Saskatchewan and over a decade in our bumpy road Estevan, I have seen the difference between politicking and governing in my time.
Politicking is playing for instant favour with the people. Politicking is responding to comments from Ontario and Quebec premiers with a threat to get popularity. Politicking is using tax dollars on signs that actually have no real purpose other than party politics. Politicking is achieving no long-term goals.
Governing, on the other hand, is listening to the people and achieving long-term goals.
As an example, healthcare, Crown corporations, education quality, increasing overall quality of life for people you govern.
On July 31, we had twins … a boy and a girl. The hospital my wife gave birth in had no hot water in the one wing, three broken toilets and non-stop running water (increased cost) and two broken bathroom sinks.
Due to the fact the birth involved twins, there was to be nine people in the operation room for delivery in case there was a problem. We had five, as that was what was available.
We got home and I looked up Saskatchewan’s rating for hospitals and we were at a D level, the lowest in Saskatchewan’s history.
Highway 18 needs dramatic repair and with many other roads damaging our vehicles and being a danger to drive on.
Education, at our current time, has overflow classrooms and decreased staffing. Missing teacher assistants at ever-lower numbers and reduced maintenance endanger students in schools with molding walls and collapsing roofs on their heads.
Climbing crime rates, climbing servility of the crimes leading to more public problems.
Increased Crown debt of $6 billion just for SaskPower, increase RM and city debts due to infrastructure cuts, increased government debt during boom periods.
At the end, popularity and politicking is just a show. It looks fancy, looks good in a suit, but has actually accomplished nothing while lowering the quality of life in Saskatchewan.
Blaming the past of others before you, is a smoke screen for not governing.
Governing is leaving things in a better plan than when you first got there.
I see no governing from the current government in charge.
For our children, let’s fix this as governing is needed.
Cameron Robock
Provincial NDP candidate
Estevan Constituency
