Want to help Saskatchewan over the long weekend? Cause it needs you.
Be that person.
You know the one.
Be the one who throws cold water on misogyny when you’re out on the boat. It’ll be awkward for a second, but you’ll be okay.
Or the one who confidently states a fact around the fire pit to counter your neighbor’s rambling misinformation on the federal government or climate change or whatever.
The silence of good people in Saskatchewan is really hurting us. The culture of fear of the Sask Party and as I’m increasingly starting to believe, of each other, is off the charts.
It’s unnecessary. We know most people are good people. It’ll stay that way as long as we keep the path forward clear of the bad ones.
We saw this in the response to the horrific words of an Alberta business bro who flung hate speech at a local LGBQT2S+ organization. His community dealt out a swift economic and public punishment that will likely lead to his business folding.
Call it cancel culture - so what?
A television show is cancelled (which is really the only analogy that makes sense) because not enough people are interested in it. Something about it turns people off, so they do the same. Typically an announcement is made by the network and then the show disappears, no longer taking up network space that could be more productive.
We use boundaries to uphold civilization in the same manner and we do not turn away when they’re crossed. When that happens an immediate response is required to ensure the boundary is reestablished and reinforced. The space within those boundaries is cleared to make way for what is more productive.
Yes, that may mean negative outcomes for the boundary-crosser; we call those the “consequences of your actions”.
Despite what some would have you believe, a market response to anything, whether carbon usage or hate speech, is a balanced and democratic response.
Nobody’s arresting the Alberta jerk for what he said, leaving his personal freedom intact. Instead, the market is simply exercising its right to determine where its own boundaries lie. He is free to continue living his life as he sees fit, though with perhaps less in it than he had before.
Oh well.
Once upon a time the Opposition Party, unions and special interest groups in Saskatchewan knew how to use their voices to stoke the market, or the electorate, when boundaries were crossed or needed revisiting.
If there was an issue that required political or government action, it was standard for stakeholders to privately lobby government MLAs while simultaneously making a public case for what they were pursuing.
It was done without fear of reprisal from the government, because both sides respected the process. If the government was satisfied that the stakeholder’s public case was successful, they would also be motivated by the political will to respond to it.
However after their massive win in 2011, the Saskatchewan government grew disinterested in what voters wanted. By 2016 the Sask Party was pursuing absolute domination of the public narrative.
It deemed itself the authority on what voters want… because what other choice did voters have?
The new and only process to motivate the Sask Party became:
Donate as much money as you can to it.
Repeat (more than once, if possible).
Hope
it was enoughfor the best.
Today, if a government-connected org like a union, non-profit or economic development agency needs something involving your tax dollars, you won’t know about it unless the Sask Party gives them permission to tell you.
Daring to attempt to generate political will without gaining the Sask Party’s blessing first basically guarantees the failure of the request.
You know what I’m talking about: the various Chambers of Commerces, SARM, SUMA, agriculture-based interest groups etc. who don’t say boo to a ghost without asking for Scott Moe’s permission first.
Those people caved to the Sask Party’s suppression tactics. Instead of serving their memberships, self-serving executives, union presidents, boards of directors and other so-called “leaders” served the Sask Party and by extension, solely themselves.
They became mouthpieces for the government and/or stayed silent when it mattered.
Today, if it can’t be accomplished on Twitter or a news conference, seems like nobody wants to do it. The health care system is being carved up and sold off to the lowest Sask Party-donor bidders, destroying well-paid, full-time jobs along the way, while all unions except CUPE, plus powerful groups like the Saskatchewan Medical Association stay silent.
Rolling over in her grave today is Helen Jury Armstrong, a Canadian feminist icon who boldly fought publicly for union causes, for women’s rights and against war.
“When the workers walk off the job in 1919, Armstrong is a vital part of the strike effort. She takes deputations from women workers. She helps set up a soup kitchen to feed striker's families. And she goes to jail. Three times... The anti-strike Citizen newspaper describes her as a "female bolshevicki."" - CBC.ca, “Helen Jury Armstrong: The Canadian activist who fought for equal wages for women. In 1919.”, May 1, 2017
Contrast that against:
Two years into a mismanaged pandemic.
Though it kind of looks like it, pretty sure Moe doesn’t have a knife to her back. The fact their union’s leader agreed to allow Moe to project an image of solidarity with registered nurses in Saskatchewan is a stonecold leadership failure.
It’s also the number one reason Moe and Merriman continue to steamroll health care - why wouldn’t they, when this is how we reinforce the system’s boundaries?
Say cheese!
Earlier this week, a video filled with blatant lies was created by a Saskatchewan-based YouTuber who takes great pleasure in the embarrassing image he’s created for himself. He reinforces his own misogynistic behaviour and that of others, particularly online, using messages that imply or outright state intolerant, sexist stereotyping of basically everyone who isn’t his rural conservative audience.
I could give a f**k, but this Youtube loser is dangled by not only our current but our former premier, amongst other high profile Sask Party supporters including corporate, as a voice of record about Saskatchewan. Particularly, about Saskatchewan agriculture.
His video presented a false narrative - a lie - about an important issue impacting farmers. The lie is right in the title, along with the words “Justin Trudeau”, which tells you everything. It was clickbait for rural Saskatchewan and it worked like a charm.
It was bogus, yet spread all over the province and Western Canada by politicians and other Saskatchewan “leaders” alike, saturating their audiences with the misinformation. Not a single “leader”, whether in government or agriculture, spoke up. They watched the lie go viral, knowing refuting it would earn the wrath of the Sask Party, as well as that of rabid conservative rural Saskatchewan residents who think lying to support their politics and thwart others is a-ok.
When someone needs to lie that blatantly to get attention for a cause, it usually backfires. Not in Saskatchewan, or at least not any more.
Look, I’m not asking you to throw down with a bunch of anti-vaxxers over burgers on Saturday night. I know you’re tired of fighting. I am too. It’s exhausting.
I’m just saying, though, that silence isn’t working and it would be really nice if we could find ways to counter misinformation - bullshit - like we used to. There was a time when we ranted about political-”correctness” and how restrictive it was, but that’s what boundaries are, usually for good reason.
Maybe a few of us need to reestablish our own.
Normally I publish on Thursdays, but I wanted to get this out today because I’m going to take a week off, returning next Friday August 5, 2022 to my normal publishing schedule (Tuesday and Friday).
I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by how angry I am about this place, which is nothing knew. I’ve been writing about Saskatchewan issues for at least six years and it can be upsetting to see how much we’ve regressed during that same period of time, which I really didn’t think was possible when I started lol. Today I know when it’s time to hit pause. The time and space allows me to clear my head and refocus on what I’m trying to do here, which in turn allows me to provide you with better content and information for your bucks.
The break will also give you an opportunity to catch up on reading, because I write long-form. I know it’s a lot. I’ll also unlock some previous content, if you want to have a look around the site more while I’m away.
I love writing this Substack and thank you so much for subscribing and supporting it. This post is open to everyone; please feel free to forward and share it.
Enjoy your long weekend, you deserve it. I’m going to leave you with this video, about a Regina man who gifted a ticket to a Saskatchewan woman so she can attend her first Rider game, which she hadn’t been able to because she couldn’t afford it. That is the Saskatchewan we know and love. More please.
See ya in a week,
PS: Apparently a few of you are seeing the name of my bank (TCU Financial) and my cell phone number (which is special) on your credit card or bank statements instead of “Substack”, or something more appropriate. Please let me know if this happens to you and in the meantime I’m working with Stripe to get it fixed ASAP.
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