Good Morning and Happy Monday!
Scrolling through the list of new subscribers this morning, I recognized so many “names” - real names and usernames - of people I’ve really grown to consider friends and family-like, even though I’ve never met most of you. It really made me happy - welcome to a new chapter in my ongoing quest to make as many enemies in Saskatchewan as possible.
(KIDDING)
(mostly)
Seriously, you guys are the best and I missed you so much. I’m so glad you’re here.
Twitter? Meh. I’m still fighting with myself over it. Like I said in my very first post, this province is way too small and my Twitter account seems to enrage or terrify, or both, a lot of people. I believe elected officials, left or right, run for elected office, in part, for the power. With increased power comes, or should come, increased scrutiny: play stupid games, win stupid prizes. While free speech and shining a light on bullshit is my thing, making folks hate me is really not my intent. That account sure seems to accomplish it though.
However it does seem like a shame to let the account dissolve, which it will in another week or so if I don’t reactivate it. There’s 8500 hard-earned followers sitting there - seems like such a shame to let them go. I’ve been thinking about letting non-profit organizations, or other like-minded activists take the account over for a few weeks or months. I didn’t realize til recently, but you can basically rebrand the account with a new handle, name and profile picture. (I’d love your thoughts on what you think I should do with my Twitter account, or if you’re interested in Tweeting from it for a while, email me at tammyrobert@live.ca.)
Anyway, I wish I could open this site up for free to everyone, but I want to go back to writing full-time, and with some income coming in from doing so, I can. There is so much I want to tell you - what’s been going on behind the scenes in the provincial government for the past two years is sickening. Everything I’ve written about over the last almost ten years pales in comparison. I’ve been super hard on Saskatchewan media at times lately, which has lost me a few more friends, but come on. I get that everyone’s tired and as sick of the shenanigans as I am, but if you don’t want to do the job, move on. There is an epic amount of bullshit going on in government right now, for which (if you choose to remain in Saskatchewan) you will pay for the rest of your life. Your kids and grandkids will too. It’s going to make what Grant Devine’s government did look positively quaint. The Saskatchewan NDP Opposition is simply not competent enough to do its job holding the Sask Party to account, and won’t be anytime soon. (That’s a whole other blog post, but that party is finished, IMO, which f**ks us even harder.)
All that to say - I still really feel like somebody’s got to do this. The Sask Party government is frighteningly corrupt and authoritarian and getting away with it because literally nobody is holding them accountable. It’s a free for all, and the damage it’s doing to your real life is significant, even if that is not obvious to you right now.
Anyway I wanted to leave you with something amusing, and I think the following does the trick.
Every spring in the Saskatchewan Legislature we’re treated to daily “debates” over the provincial budget, which is traditionally released the third week of March. I use quotes because what that really means is every Sask Party backbencher, rookie or seasoned, gets to stand up and riff into the record what they think about their government’s budget. Most of it is scripted talking points, but ultimately you never know what’s going to come out of their mouths, but it never fails to disappoint.
I’m going to write about that more, but this morning I’ll leave you with this absolute gem, uttered March 24, the day after the budget was released, by rookie Moose Jaw North Sask Party MLA and backbencher Tim McLeod , wherein he compares his party’s pandemic response to a John Candy movie:
Now in the event you haven’t seen it, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a road trip/buddy comedy, released in 1987 starring John Candy and Steve Martin. Martin’s character is a slick, selfish corporate prick who hates Candy’s character, an affable but stupid blue collar dope who inadvertently keeps getting in Martin’s way of getting home for Thanksgiving. Candy is not nearly as concerned - he’s happy to do what’s required, help other people and generally make the journey less unpleasant for everyone. The two men are forced to travel together, despite Martin’s numerous attempts to get away from Candy by insulting or attempting to abandon him at every opportunity.
The glimpse we’re getting into the mindset of the Sask Party backbencher is hilarious. (For the record, a “backbencher” is a government MLA who isn’t skilled, accomplished or cool enough to be made a Minister in Scooter Moe’s Cabinet).
All the MLAs McLeod references in his speech were first elected in 2020. Terry Jensen is one of the newest members of the Sask Party’s DUI club and the MLA for Martensville-Warman. Dana Skoropad is the MLA for Arm River.
The fact that those three geniuses actually thought this was a good idea for the public record - comparing their party’s response to one of the deadliest crises in Saskatchewan history, killing well over a thousand people and counting, to a slapstick comedy - should tell you everything about the attitude that permeates the entire Sask Party caucus.
They think the pandemic is a joke.
My question for Todd: if the Sask Party government is Steve Martin’s character, facing one “stumbling block” after another, are the voters of this province the annoying John Candy character it’s trying to get away from?
My next question: are Todd, Dana and Terry really this stupid? Do they actually believe the consequence of not getting home for a turkey dinner equates to the incredible suffering of Saskatchewan residents who are now experiencing long COVID? Of the Saskatchewan kids who have lost a parent, or the parents who have lost a child? Of the stressed out, traumatized health care employees facing horrid working conditions in facilities ran into the ground by Todd’s government?
I’m going to go with yes, they are that stupid. It was an incredibly ignorant way for Todd to open his speech, which was literally the second Sask Party response to the budget.
The first was from the inexplicably newly-elected Sask Party MLA for Athabasca, an Indigenous man who’s first speech in the Legislature was dedicated to clarifying that in his opinion the Sask Party government is not racist. No sir. He can’t even believe anyone would say that.
Yes, seriously.
These clowns will never cease to amaze me.
Anyway, welcome to this new space, I’m thrilled you found it. I would love it if you would share the link on Twitter, because I want to continue to grow what I consider to be what’s become our own Saskatchewan small town or community. I miss that. You can share screenshots, if (for example) you find a line you like in a paywalled piece. And of course Facebook shares help too. The faster this takes off, the faster I can tell you everything you need to know about the full extent of what’s going on in Saskatchewan right now, so we can decide what we can do about it. It isn’t good, friends, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I think it’s going to take a decade or more for the full picture to emerge of what the hell happened in Saskatchewan over the last two years, and it’s going to be tough on everyone as they process.
All I know for sure is if the pain is unavoidable, it’s got to mean something. Everything that has happened cannot be in vain - so many people should not be gone. Their lives must mean something still. We owe it to the Saskatchewan dead, their families and each other to at least learn how to do better, even if those largely responsible for their demise DGAF right now.
Thanks for being here and talk soon, Tam