The business of selling a province

Another election has passed and I shall wallow through another four years of Premier Wall and his fancily rebranded Conservatives. No matter how much I see and hear Mr. Wall, I cannot shake the feeling that there is something about the man that I can not trust. And so I receive the news of the election results with a bitter mix of “I told you so” and sadness.

What the election means to me is simply another four years of pro-business banter and legislation mixed with empty promises of making Saskatchewan great. What we are doing is simply whoring ourselves out in the style and fashion of Alberta. This province used to pride itself on not being like Alberta, but those days have apparently passed.

Raising royalty rates may not have been Mr. Lingenfelter’s greatest idea, but tax cuts are not exactly Mr. Wall’s greatest contribution to this province either. In fact, if he does cut taxes as he promised to do, all he will do is cripple the province in the future by depriving it of much needed revenue.

However, I do not expect people like Mr. Wall, who is in bed with big business, to understand this. While he may not be the Devil in disguise, he is by no stretch of the imagination the saviour of Saskatchewan.

I hope the people of Saskatchewan bask in the sunshine of Mr. Wall while they can, because once they awaken from their slumber they shall find a province that is only a shell of its former self. By making ourselves so dependent on the extraction of natural resources, Mr. Wall has severely exposed us to the boom-and-bust cycles that Alberta experiences.

Maybe it is the easiness with which I can detach myself from this province that allows me to take these results in stride, I don’t know. Yet, unless Mr. Wall can actually make this province affordable for young people who are starting out, I will simply vote with my feet and move.

And I am sure that thousands will follow to provinces that are more affordable and attractive for young professionals who don’t want to labour at BHP Billiton or PCS mines for their careers. Earning $20,000 over 10 years won’t do the trick either.

For now, though, I will simply allow the news of the night to wash over me while listening to the more melancholy music of Wagner. History shall judge Mr. Wall in due time.

Sebastian Prost
Contributor