Politics with Murray Mandryk
Page 14 - FEBRUARY 2 , 2017 - mARtEnsvillE mEssEngER
Provincial
Politics with Murray Mandryk
trump impacted a Mixed Bag
If there weren ’ t already many reasons to dislike new U . S . President Donald Trump , he seems to be providing new ones each day . Trump added to his bombast in his presidential inaugural address by suggesting that Americans were living in carnage . Carnage ? The U . S . economy has been on the upswing . Were that not bad enough , Trump ’ s press liaison Sean Spicer criticized the Washington press corp . for its coverage of the crowd size at Trump ’ s inauguration , insisting that Trump attracted the largest crowd ever-when in fact , he did not . Pictures clearly show more people in attendance at former president Barack Obama ’ s inauguration in 2009 . Television ratings also indicate more viewers turned Obama ’ s swearing in . For this to be so much as a slight issue that the U . S . President would show worry is ridiculously petty . After all , if the U . S . is in a state of carnage , shouldn ’ t that be Trump ’ s focus ? No sooner did the nonsense over the crowd size die down , an issue Trump raised in front of a memorial dedicated to Central Intelligence Agency officers who died in the line of duty- when the new President alleged he would have won the popular vote , were it not for voter fraud and the millions of Americans voting illegally . To this serious allegation , Trump ’ s spokesman offered absolutely no evidence . This was not just an irresponsible thing to say . It demonstrated the ease in which Trump can be distracted . However , such issues related to Donald Trump ’ s personality are issues for Americans … not us . Our biggest concern should be how his presidency may impact us . In that regard , it might not be all that bad for Saskatchewan and rural Saskatchewan in particular . However , with someone as protectionist as Trump saying he will be , there is reason to be concerned .
At least Trump ’ s first decision looks like it could impact us in a positive way , the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline . “ This is a win for both of our countries ’ energy industries , for energy consumers and for energy security ,” Premier Brad Wall said in a written statement mere hours after Trump ’ s announcement . “ I have said before that if Keystone had been judged on its merits and on the facts – it would have been approved years ago .” Wall went on to say the project has always met U . S . criteria and “ enhances U . S . energy security while feeding Canadian heavy oil to U . S . refineries that want it and freeing up rail cars for moving grain . “ It will help lower the price differential Canada receives for its oil – that differential costs our governments and producers hundreds of millions of dollars each year ,” Wall , added it will mean about 2,200 jobs in Alberta and Saskatchewan which is good news for a hard-hit industry . The Saskatchewan Premier added this was great news for Evraz in Regina , because the pipe manufacturer was all but shut down by the Barrack Obama administration ’ s refusal to approve the project . However , consider what
Trump said while signing Keystone XL ’ s approval : “ We will build our own pipeline . We will build our own pipes .” That does not sound like it bodes well for Ezra , which has 250 miles of pipelines stored and ready to go for this project . In addition what might Trump ’ s America-first approach mean for Canadian oil exports ? Former Saskatchewan MLA Tim McMillan , now president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers ( CAPP ), expressed concern Trump ’ s approach could endanger Canadian jobs . What of our trade deals ? What will renegotiating NAFTA really mean ? Most worrisome of all is the Saskatchewan agriculture that has previously endured U . S . country of origin labeling on beef and pork and tariffs on Canadian grain . Trump has already freely thrown around the notion of tariffs on foreign cars , but at least Trump ’ s first order of business is good news for Saskatchewan . Let ’ s hope it remains that way .
CUPE Concerned That the Rushed Review of the K-12 Education System Will Hurt Students and Workers
The public comment period to the advisory panel on education reform has ended , but the Canadian Union of Public Employees ( CUPE ) vows to keep voicing its concerns about the proposed restructuring .
“ Frontline workers , who have already had hours reduced because of government funding cuts , are concerned that restructuring will remove community accountability , create unstable labour relations , and most importantly , lower the quality of education for students ,” said Tom Graham , president of CUPE Saskatchewan . “ CUPE supports the status quo of maintaining the existing 28 elected school divisions . Perrins ’ report has not provided any evidence or rationale for further amalgamations .”
The Government of Saskatchewan tasked a six person advisory panel to review the recommendations of Perrins ’ report and set a course of substantial change to K-12 education in a matter of weeks . Many of the options presented in Perrins ’ report will drastically reduce the number of school boards and replace democratically elected and accountable school boards with government appointees who will be accountable only to government .
“ The goal of ‘ transformational change ’ in education should not focus on cost savings but on improving the delivery and quality of education to children , their families , and communities . Education is a public good and fundamental for a democratic society ,” said Jackie Christianson , an education assistant and chairperson of CUPE Saskatchewan ’ s Education Workers ’ Steering Committee . “ The interests of children are best served with school boards that are democratically elected and accountable to communities .”
CUPE is also concerned that the consultation process to date has been inadequate . “ The consultation process has been rushed , and to date has not offered any meaningful opportunities for parents , teachers , support staff , students , or community members to
Immigrants seek refuge under Canadian flag
engage ,” said Graham . “ Additionally , the report is silent on labour relations issues . With many of our locals about to engage in collective bargaining , this process creates significant uncertainty around what the workplace will look like in the future .
“ As residents of this province , we should all be concerned about what the proposed sweeping changes will mean for our children ,” added Graham . “ Any restructuring will create massive disruption to our education system . Ultimately , children and parents will lose education support in the schools and access to their democratically elected trustee .”
CUPE represents 7,000 support workers in 20 school divisions in Saskatchewan , including education assistants , facility operators , administrative assistants , clerical assistants , secretaries , school bus drivers , caretakers , maintenance workers , library assistants , nutrition coordinators , information technicians , social workers , counsellors , community school coordinators , interpreters , speech and language assistants , and other school support workers .
You can read CUPE ’ s full submission at www . cupe . ca .
Letter to the Editor
The Martensville Messenger welcomes letters to the editor for publication . Letters must be signed and a phone number and / or email address included so the writer ’ s identity can be verified . ALL letters are the opinion of the writer and NOT the Martensville Messenger . We reserve the right to edit letters for length , clarity or compliance with the current standards of public taste . Submit your letter to ssealey @ martensvillemessenger . ca or jottenbreit @ martensvillemessenger . ca or drop by the Martensville Messenger office at Bay # 7 - 301 Centennial Drive North .