麻豆视频

When it comes to developing and using our natural resources for the general good, we prefer the tried and true made-in-Saskatchewan approach. In fact, it鈥檚 something this province can point to with pride.

The Saskatchewan solution for bringing such things as electrical power and telephone service into remote and rural areas of this province was born of necessity. The governments of those days knew none of the major privately owned corporations were going to do it because there was no promise of profit.

But, they also knew the province would not be able to grow without implementing these services, so we had Crown corporations doing the job no one else wanted to do.

That kind of attitude continues to this day, and extends even to the point where this province is leading the field in carbon capture methodology and experience.

Naturally, this action has drawn the critics, and the provincial government has been its own worst enemy on this file by not always being forthright about the carbon capture project and the ensuing CO2 sale agreement.

We expect those who were putting up the first power lines and telephone exchanges, also suffered criticisms from various corners, fielding complaints about the costs, the timelines or the methods used to get the jobs done.

Our province鈥檚 Crowns built roads where and when they were needed when the private sector feared to tread on unprofitable soils and projects.

In the past couple of weeks, the feelers have gone out regarding the possibility of Saskatchewan and Manitoba teaming up to use more of Manitoba鈥檚 excess hydroelectric power to meet upcoming environmental regulations. In fact, the talks have progressed to the point where all of Western Canada is talking about sharing electrical power grids.

On the surface, this appears to be a visionary approach whose time has come.

There are also rumblings that SaskTel鈥檚 days are numbered, and that it should be enveloped into the loving arms of one of our country鈥檚 big communications companies.

Again, on the surface, it just might work.

But scratch a little bit beneath that surface and you might see more than a few Saskatchewan citizens, especially the older ones, urging caution.

Will the major telcos serve and, upgrade remote areas of Saskatchewan with the same grace, speed and efficiencies as SaskTel?

Might the western power grid system turn on Saskatchewan with demands to scrap CCS and rely solely on wind and hydro, no matter what the consequences and costs might be?

Will the wind turbines and solar panels be built in Saskatchewan? Will they even be built in Canada? Who will repair them and scrap and recycle them when the time comes?聽

Will the communication company that gulps up SaskTel serve the community with unique made in Saskatchewan solutions like in the past? Or will the edicts be passed down from Toronto or Montreal?

If Saskatchewan joins the huge power grid plan, it means Saskatchewan no longer gets to call the shots that would serve the province better.

We agree that it makes sense to divest ourselves of some fringe Crown corporations that have served their purpose but are no longer considered to be core enablers for our provincial well-being.

But when it comes to the bigger dogs like SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskEnergy, health, agriculture, culture, economic development, education and environment plus a few others, we raise that age-old finger of caution.

Being bigger does not necessarily mean things would be better.

When it comes to innovation and protecting resources and people, Saskatchewan has a pretty good track record. We鈥檇 hate to see that being compromised in favour of a big one-time cheque and a bunch of promises from shareholder-driven corporations.

Our vote remains with the sure thing.