More so than just about any business you can think of, politics is all about knowing whom you are and where you have come from.
The problem, however, is that it鈥檚 quite easy to forget all that, even under normal circumstances.
And with the stakes so high in this COVID-19 crisis, it鈥檚 likely even harder for our leadership to remember the fundamentals of this province.
As such, Premier Scott Moe had some mixed results in 小蓝视频 able to do so.
There is one area in which Moe has been rather successful in remembering where he has come from and reminding all of us in Saskatchewan of exactly who we are.
The Premier recently wrote: 鈥淗ats off to our farmer for perseverance and hard work this season鈥� to congratulate that seeding was at the five-year for this date.
In a world where nothing seems normal 鈥� Saskatchewan lost a staggering 53,000 jobs in April 鈥� agriculture saw a 1.4-per-cent increase in employment in April as seeding got into full swing.
It鈥檚 done so without receiving anything resembling the federal subsidies other business are getting. So far, only $252 million has been made available to farmers across the country to deal with effect of COVID-19 鈥� very little of which has made its way to western farmers and ranchers. Moreover, it鈥檚 only one-tenth of what the Canadian Federation of Agriculture requested.
Yet farmers are demonstrating what Moe aptly described as 鈥減erseverance鈥� in carrying on with seeding that will be an estimated 37 million acres this year. Some of them have had to leave last year鈥檚 crop in the field because of horrific harvest conditions last fall.
Agriculture is simply soldiering on, pumping millions into the local economy as farmers buy seed, fertilizers, chemicals and fuel.
The net result is that Saskatchewan has seen an increase in exports in the first quarter of 2020, largely due to canola, pulse, agricultural machinery, oats and soya beans sales.
聽It is important for Moe and others to acknowledge what we are 鈥� especially, in these tough times when the impact of the pandemic is taking its toll on all of us.
However, Moe and his government hasn鈥檛 always been quite so successful at remembering its roots, as was demonstrated by the recent Saskatchewan Health Authority driven decision to temporary close to 12 rural hospital emergency rooms as part of the SHA鈥檚 pandemic readiness plan.
One gets the need to prepare health staff everywhere in the province for the potential impact of a COVID-19 outbreak.
But the simply fact of the matter is there has been no more than one active COVID-19 case in all of central and southern rural Saskatchewan for a month. To even 鈥渢emporarily鈥� completely close rural ERs during seeding poses a very real problem.
That it comes from a government that represents all 29 rural seats is even more bizarre.
It took a letter from 21-year Arm River-Watrous 小蓝视频 Greg Brkich to the SHA and to his own cabinet before the Sask. Party administration seemed to realize this.
In his letter, Brkich expressed frustration over the temporary closure of the Davidson Hospital ER 鈥� the only hospital between Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and Outlook.
鈥淟ocal folks are 小蓝视频 short changed again in rural Saskatchewan鈥� by 小蓝视频 left without quality emergency care, Brkich wrote.
Given the history of the closure of 52 rural hospitals by the former NDP government 27 years ago, it鈥檚 especially strange that the Sask. Party government would have missed the significance of what it was doing.
To his credit, Moe took responsibility for the 鈥渃ommunication鈥� problem and offered assurances the closed ERs would be re-opened in mid-June.
But it does seem to demonstrate how important it is for politicians to remember where they come from.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics since 1983.
