For years, we鈥檝e lived by the adage that all politics is local.
Much of the time, this is the case鈥� for both good and bad.
For example, rural Saskatchewan 鈥� or at least, historical rural Saskatchewan that was once dominated provincial politics 鈥� used to consistently benefit from the notion that it is the job of politicians to appease local interests.
When the majority of provincial seats were rural voters saw many benefits including rural electrification, favourable agricultural policies and the building and maintaining of local rural hospitals.
Policies like the latter may not have necessarily been the best for the province as whole 鈥� especially in the latter years when consolidating expensive advanced surgical and diagnostic medical services in larger hospitals was needed.
But more often than not, it has been rural residents who have had to endure the other end of the spectrum 鈥� the downside of all politics being local.
That was evident in the decision more than two decades ago by the then-NDP government to close 52 rural hospitals and the Plains Health Centre just on the outskirts of Regina.
It was that latter decision to close the newest and best-run hospital in the Regina area that best illustrated how decisions solely based on local considerations aren鈥檛 always in the best collective interests.
Dr. Lewis Draper 鈥� a former NDP MLA for Assiniboia-Gravelbourg who had a falling out with the Roy Romanow government over the closures of those 52 rural hospitals 鈥� is one who firmly believes the decision to close the Plains聽 was largely based on the resistance from local NDP Regina MLAs and the NDP-dominated Regina city council that privately protested the closure of any hospital within their city limits.
But if it can be said that decisions made on the basis of local politics are often ill-advised, the same can be said of decisions based on far away considerations.
Consider U.S. President Barack Obama鈥檚 recent decision to reject the TranCanada鈥檚 application for the 1,900-kilometre Keystone XL pipeline because it 鈥渨ill not serve the national interests of the American people鈥� to carry dirtier Canadian oil.
Despite saying Keystone XL was not 鈥渢he express train to climate disaster鈥� Obama has clearly made his decision to appease U.S. environmentalists who believe just that.
In fact, Obama鈥檚 own White House environment reports suggested Keystone XL wouldn鈥檛 have added to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
And Premier Brad Wall was quick to point out that the U.S used 493,000 rail cars to moves oil in 2014 compared with only 9,500 cars 2008. This would also add to GHG emissions.
For Saskatchewan, it will mean less revenue from oil. We will continue to be without an option when it comes to getting oil to tidewater and sell it at the higher Brent price.
There will also be pipeline jobs loss in the Shaunavon area.
Of course, local jobs should never be the driving force behind such decisions. But that doesn鈥檛 stop government from trying to make such local politics as the driving force ... even when it really isn鈥檛.
Consider the Saskatchewan Party government鈥檚 $1.5-billion taxpayer-investment in carbon capture technology at Boundary Dam near Estevan.
Under a lot of heat for saying that the carbon capture technology is working when the evidence now suggests it isn鈥檛, Wall鈥檚 government switched tactics and is now attempting to make this issue about local coal-power electrical jobs in the Estevan areas.
If this is the case, spending $1.5 billion on technology that doesn鈥檛 work doesn鈥檛 seem a wise investment for a few hundred jobs.
But the reality is Wall is really making this decision on faraway environmental considerations.
And as is the case with Keystone XL, decisions made on the basis of far away politics are often no better than the ones made on the basis of local politics.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 22 years.
