Well, folks, here we are.聽 We鈥檝e come to the final issue of the year and with that, the last Ruttle Report for 2019.
I know I say it every year, but I鈥檓 telling you, I just don鈥檛 get it 鈥� I just don鈥檛 understand how time can seem to fly by with the speed of light.聽 At least, that鈥檚 how it seems when you do what we do.聽 It can seem like I鈥檇 just hit 鈥楽ave鈥� on an article mere weeks ago, when in fact it was eight or nine months ago.
Time just gets away from us.
Before we look ahead to 2020, I think it鈥檚 only fair that we take a look back at 2019.聽 The past twelve months were certainly a memorable time in our society, whether on the national stage or right here at home.
It was a year that saw the veritable 鈥榩ower of the press鈥� on full display when we at The Outlook had intentions of running a questionnaire with the mayor of Outlook back in the spring.聽 Our questions, hard ones that pulled no punches, were taken to a town council meeting, and a motion that was carried that eventually made its way back to us labeled this news publication as having utilized 鈥渕alicious tactics鈥�.聽 Cue the circus.聽 Once the story that we never intended to create hit the web, it went viral to the ninth degree to the point where we even had media contemporaries asking for our take on the whole mess.聽 In the meantime, media outlets from across the province and beyond picked up on it and gave us their backing, which we appreciated.聽 In the end, our questions eventually got answered, but the bigger question may be related to how much damage may have been done to the reputation of Outlook鈥檚 inner political circle in the eyes of taxpayers.
It was a year that saw a Canadian federal election that did nothing but create more division among sections of the country.聽 When Justin Trudeau鈥檚 Liberal Party once again took the win with a minority government, Conservative supporters liked the fact there was more blue (particularly across all of Saskatchewan), but still felt that the West breaking off from the East is the only way to save the economy and the livelihood of the Prairies.聽 It鈥檚 a conversation still 小蓝视频 felt two months out of the election, and the idea of 鈥榃exit鈥� is something that divides Canadians by itself.
It was a year that saw the topic of climate change take center stage across all sorts of platforms.聽 Doing all that we can to preserve the Earth and everyone pitching in to 鈥渄o their part鈥� is a given, but on the other hand, have extremists hurt the fundamental message 小蓝视频 supported by scientists and academics?聽 Are the attention-seeking protestors stopping traffic (and thereby helping to put more pollution in the air) the kind of representation that climate change should have in the first place?聽 Does making Greta Thunberg the Time Magazine 鈥淧erson of the Year鈥� influence the conversation around our planet in a positive or negative way?聽 All of it is open to interpretation.
It was a year where the new swimming pool in Outlook finally opened its doors to the public on Canada Day back in July.聽 It had been a long, winding, twisting road with all sorts of barriers and stop-and-go progress along the way, but in the end, it all seemed to be worth the wait.聽 The long lineups out the door and down the sidewalk spoke volumes on Opening Day.聽 Let鈥檚 hope the future is only brighter for this facility and that it has the public鈥檚 continued support.聽 It鈥檚 going to need it.
It was a year that saw the abrupt closure of Outlook鈥檚 longstanding and long-operated recycling depot.聽 The public, and the depot鈥檚 employees, woke up the day after Thanksgiving to the news that the Town had decided to close the facility.聽 No advance notice, only an apology for there 小蓝视频 no advance notice.聽 Suffice to say, it didn鈥檛 take a rocket scientist to determine what was going to end up 小蓝视频 the 鈥渕ain event鈥� of the public meeting hosted by the Town two days later.聽 While the hard numbers helped tell the story behind the closure, the outrage over the closure and its related side effects are still 小蓝视频 felt today.
Finally, it was a year that may have set the stage for a historic 2020.聽 With more future-shaping events on the horizon in the form of municipal and provincial elections, it could be an interesting time for not only our province, but our communities here at home in the Lake Diefenbaker region.
As for us, you can count on us 小蓝视频 there to capture it all; the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly.聽 We get a front row seat to history 小蓝视频 made, even if it鈥檚 at the grassroots level.
It鈥檚 just what we do.
For this week, and for the final time in 2019, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
