Brad "Wall-Mart" and Saskatchewan's right turn

When Brad Wall and the Saskatchewan Party swept to power in the November 2007 Saskatchewan election [1] most lefties knew it would mean a sharp shift to the right. The electorate's mood for change after 17 years of the NDP's measured rightward steps during its successive mandates âe" steps which garnered front page praise [2] from the Fraser Institute [3] âe" surely helped shape the shift. And now, we Saskatchewanians are witnessing that rightward bend.

Premier Brad Wall-Mart, as he has been dubbed, a Mennonite from Swift Current, has created a decidedly business-friendly environment in the home of the Greatest Canadian [4]. He made good on a promise to privatize the economic decision-making powers of government by legislating Enterprise Saskatchewan (ES). This, at a time when the province's resource-based economy is lining the pockets of those who already have, while women continue to earn about 70 per cent of what men make and Saskatchewan's children are among the poorest children in the country.

It comes as no surprise, however, that Premier Wall-Mart's SaskaTories are ignoring poverty and women's issues. In fact, only two women were appointed to the ES Board of Directors. And a Minister Responsible for the Status of Women in the province of Saskatchewan has not been appointed.

Cuts and confusion

The government quickly changed government departments (and letterhead) to government ministries, and indicated their intent to deal with young offenders as criminals rather than troubled youth by moving social workers from Community Services into Corrections. They also floated the idea of replacing our wheat sheaf logo [5] (and then spun their decision to keep it as proof they were listening to the people of Saskatchewan! Good luck finding the old logo anywhere on the government of Saskatchewan website!)

Funding for innovative programs such as Station 20 West [6], an inner-city community development program in Saskatoon, and training within the film and video industry are gone. As well, the 83 year-old Saskatchewan Correspondence School, a program that began as the Outpost Correspondence School [7] in 1925, has been gutted and downloaded onto already overloaded local school boards.

A study commissioned by the former NDP government that recommends the development of a nuclear reactor on Lake Diefenbaker has surfaced. Even though the environmental devastation created by the last uranium boom has yet to be addressed, uranium mining is now touted as the way to secure our future. That and the Saskatchewan Tar Sands, which are open for business.

As well, suggestions that fees for new mines will be reduced so that âeoea level playing fieldâe between old and new mines can be established have been rolled out through the mainstream media. Oh, yes! Saskatchewan's north is becoming a wonderful playground for some of the worldâe(TM)s worst corporate citizens!

Attacks on workers

Other citizens, particularly civil servants, are not faring so well. Many are out of work âe" fired âe" not because of incompetence, but because the new government perceives them to be unable to âeoetow the party line.âe If ever there was a doubt about the partisanship of the civil service in this province, there is no more. According to Deputy Premier Krawetz, Premier Wall wants âeoepeople that can follow the objectives and philosophy of the Saskatchewan Party and Premier Wall.âe

That attitude fits perfectly with the anti-worker sentiment displayed by Wall-Mart's government. A list of what's up in Saskatchewan is incomplete without naming Bills 5 and 6, the two pieces of anti-union, anti-worker, anti-democratic and anti-woman labour legislation the government rammed through this past spring. Spun as legislation necessary to balance the relationship between employers and employees, these bills are typical of those enacted by right-wing governments throughout North America.

Ain't gonna take it

Organized labour was quick to act against Bills 5 and 6, organizing educationals, letter-writing campaigns and events to provide information about the bills to their members and to the general public. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) [8] organized several open forums throughout the province and held a well-attended May Day [9] rally on the steps of the legislature. The rally was as much a celebration of solidarity within the labour movement as it was an opportunity to condemn the right wing government.

The SFL, together with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), has commenced legal action against the government of Saskatchewan over the improper firings of the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board Chair and Vice-Chairs.

The SFL and more than half of its affiliates have also launched a Charter challenge, stating that the two bills violate workers' rights to bargain as a collective and to create workplace unions. In addition, the SFL endorsed a National Union of Public and Government Employees (NUPGE) complaint filed with the International Labour Organization (ILO) asserting that Bills 5 and 6 violate the United Nations' Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work [10].

Environmentalists and feminists

The labour movement has also provided support to the creation of a new feminist women's organization in Saskatchewan. The Prairie Lily Feminist Society, Inc. [11] solicited and received seed money to organize feminists across the province and to bring them together at a women's symposium set to take place on the anniversary of the Montréal massacre, December 6, in Saskatoon. Though the women's movement had been thriving when the NDP came to power in the early 1990s, it received little support from the government of the day and was, in fact, subject to both external and internal sabotage. Nevertheless, the energy of this new wave of feminism is inspiring and is certain to have an impact on what happens in Saskatchewan over the next few years.

Grassroots green groups have also sprung up. The Coalition for Clean Green Saskatchewan [12] based in Saskatoon and the Regina Citizens for a Nuclear-Free Society [13] are but two new organizations actively opposing nuclear development in the province. The e-mail list, no_nukes_sk, with representation from various locales within Saskatchewan has proved to be a useful way of sharing information and strategies to stop Wall-Mart's nuclear wet dream.

Stop the Tar Sands groups have also come into being, with demonstrations in both Saskatoon and Regina that saw Saskatchewan youth take leadership in organizing a loud voice in opposition to the creation of the Saskatchewan tar sands. And the Sierra Youth Coalition is active throughout the province promoting the Tar Sands Time Out [14] initiative.

Much ado

There is so much going on here it is very hard to keep tabs on it all! In some ways it is really an opportunity âe" an opportunity to create new friendships and ways of working and to renew old acquaintances and rebuild our networks ... and our province. In other ways it is an extremely difficult time âe" there is so much to do and so much is at stake.

Though our province is sparsely populated, we know we are the heart of this country. We know that what happens here is important to the rest of the country. And we, of all people in this country, know the fundamental importance of working together to make change. We're doing our best to stave off the latest attack from global capitalism. Feel free to join in!

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