聽Is it time to play the 鈥減oor Saskatchewan鈥� card again?聽
We think so, for a few reasons.聽
We do believe it鈥檚 time to haul out our old inferiority complex Plan A again because it appears as if the rest of our provincial cousins are bent on beating up on us, just like they used to do in the good old days.聽
Case in point.聽
Bombardier, the company that is the pride of Quebec and a scourge for the rest of Canada is Sample 1.聽 They are too big to fail it seems. They receive millions and on occasion, billions, on an annual basis from Canadian taxpayers, whether they need it or not, and whether they are producing anything of value or not. Yet, Saskatchewan鈥檚 laid off oilpatch workers can鈥檛 even collect extended EI benefits because we鈥檙e not geographically positioned just right.聽
It doesn鈥檛 add up.
Sample 2. Alberta oilsands grab all the international attention whether it be mining, environmental issues or pipeline deliveries. The entire country appears to be fixated on what Alberta thinks, does and doesn鈥檛 do. Meanwhile Saskatchewan, the country鈥檚 second-largest oil producer, without a whole lot of environmental issues attached to it, can鈥檛 seem to get any traction in moving our sweet Bakken crude to market. It鈥檚 all about Alberta and where it wants to build pipelines because they are still the prime producer, even if their product is inferior in quality. It鈥檚 a situation not unlike the aforementioned Bombardier, only with a 鈥渕ade in the west,鈥� flavour.聽
Sample 3. The whole issue about Earl鈥檚 55 unit restaurant chain using Kansas so-called humane beef at the expense of Alberta beef. No mention of Saskatchewan beef which appears to be pretty decent too, but, again, a slightly smaller profile, therefore an ignored profile. Other restaurant chains are quick to bring in Australian beef rather than prepare Saskatchewan beef. Why? Maybe it鈥檚 because Saskatchewan no longer has any beef processing plants. The poor country cousin lost that battle, too. 聽
Sample 4. No political or business clout 鈥� and that which we once had, is gone. Our corporate strength was sapped with the demise of Wheat Pools and controls on potash, steel, oil and grain deliveries. We are at the mercy of others. Even the new SkipTheDishes online business that grabbed $3 million from provincial taxpayers doesn鈥檛 have a defined head office, but if it did, it wouldn鈥檛 be Saskatchewan. They鈥檙e just happy to take our money, employ a few folks, and run.
We鈥檙e also on the outs on the political spectrum due to our undying devotion to one party that had a difficult time delivering much to this province when they were in power, thanks to the fact our seat count remains a measly 14, whereas in the last parliamentary overhaul, Alberta, B.C., Quebec and Ontario received healthy additions. Our population went up, but only by 100,000. That鈥檚 impressive from our perspective, but on the grand Canadian scale, it鈥檚 not that big a deal. Our big cities are not that big. We have vast acreages of land on which we grow world-class crops, but we can鈥檛 control how, where and at what price they are sold at. The big boys and girls with the big train sets get to do that.聽
We are back to being seated at the little kids table now that our oil, potash and uranium influence has dwindled down to the precious few.聽
We flew high for 10 years, but it seems as if the big kids and adults want us back in the position that makes them feel a little more comfortable.聽
