It's probably a positive thing for the Sask. Party that 80 per cent of their faithful followers in southeast Saskatchewan don't realize they are the black sheep members of the family.
To be continually dismissed by the Regina power brokers among the governing party, would, one would think, eventually wear down the partisanship and enthusiasm we seem to have for the provincial government's elite.
We often don't even know how little we receive for providing so much so that the power people can keep on riding their populace waves.
Case in point: In July of this year, the state government in North Dakota announced they were sending an additional $22 million to the people in Divide and Williams counties in the form of oil impact grants. It was an acknowledgement by their state legislators that extra funds needed to be spread out in the areas that were bringing in the wealth.
The community of Crosby, a town of about 1,200 citizens, is receiving $5 million in state funds this year to help mitigate oil patch demands on local services. Last year they got $4 million.
In comparison, Estevan, a city of nearly 13,000, receives about $2 million from the provincial government, which is supposed to cover all our needs, including oil patch pressures.
In North Dakota, the tiny town of Ray will receive $5.6 million, Tioga $10 million while Williston, Minot and Dickinson will share $14 million.
It seems the government of North Dakota gets it. They're raking in millions and sending out millions, just like they're supposed to.
They're doing so well at it, they've been singled out as the most efficient state in the United States this year with a zero budget deficit and lots of room to grow an economy and a population.
Connecticut, on the other hand, has the richest population base per capita, but the state itself is flirting with bankruptcy because it is so poorly organized and run.
North Dakota's government, according to a recent edition of The Crosby Journal, planned on issuing $240 million in Energy Impact Grants between 2013 and 2015, with the money going out in quarterly installments.
That is their state's commitment to address the region's rapid growth challenges, and the state spokesman went on to note that they would be investing $2.6 billion over two years to support the oil and gas regions.
The board of University and School Lands, the awkwardly named committee that issues the money, added that $25 million in Energy Impact Grants will be forwarded to the kindergarten to Grade 12 school systems in the affected regions and $7 million will be made available to bolster support for the respective sheriff departments.
So compare that largesse and efficiency with what is happening in Saskatchewan, where the richly paid but underserved citizens from a public service perspective are expected to continually play the role of Robin Hood's foil to the rest of the province, and you get a clear picture.
From this corner, we are making a gentle suggestion that a few government agency minions could accompany people with names like Krawetz, Boyd, McMillen and Harpauer and book a flight to Bismarck to pay a visit to those who are conducting business in that State Capitol building. They might be well advised to take a few note pads or iPads with them.
Time is running out for this provincial government. The window of opportunity to do the right thing might be closing.
We can be Canada's version of Connecticut or we can be North Dakota.
We can be personally rich but broke provincially, or well off and well served.
It's a choice our government will need to make soon.
