Martensville Messenger September 8, 2016 | Page 14
Page 14 - SEPTEMBER 8, 2016 - MaRTEnSvillE MESSEngER
Poll Shows Signs Of Divisions
About the last thing either the province or the
Saskatchewan Party need right now is more division.
While one might think tough economic times bring people
together, they sometimes really don’t.
Tough economic times mean tough choices
for a provincial government that’s already talking about
“transformational change.” Exactly what that means is
anyone’s guess at this point, but most will recognize it likely
means more bickering over keeping what we already enjoy.
This takes us to the latest indication of division - a
poll done by Mainstreet Research for Postmedia (owners of
the two major daily newspapers). The survey shows that the
Saskatchewan Party still has a commanding 53 per cent of
popular vote provincewide - the kind of public support that
most other governing parties can only dream of. Remember:
this is the beginning of the third term of government
achieved the near impossible of getting that third term. Only
CCF/NDP governments had accomplished that in the past
century.
However, the survey shows is that Premier Brad
Wall’s government is now running behind the NDP in
Regina where New Democrats have 52-per-cent support
among divided votes compared with 39 per cent for the
Sask. Party. Again, there is obviously no need for Wall and
the Sask. Party to hit the panic button yet.
Regina only represents a mere 11 of the
province’s 61 seats. At 39 per cent, were an election held
today, the Sask. Party would still likely win three to five of
those Regina seats (depending on how the vote split worked.
Moreover, the Sask. Party is still running ahead in Saskatoon
that has 14 seats and far, far ahead in 30 rural seats.
Still, it’s hard to ignore both the Sask. Party’s
overall provincewide support is down from the 60 per cent it
received in April 4th vote or the even more dramatic drop in
Regina. Even harder to ignore is the likely reasons behind
it - those deepening divisions we have seen in Saskatchewan.
This has been a summer of discontent for Wall’s
forces that really began with the Provincial Auditor’s report
on both the Regina by-pass and Global Transportation Hub
that illustrated highly questionable management practices of
both former highways minister Nancy Heppner and former
GTH/economy minister Bill Boyd. (By no small coincidence,
both have now left Wall’s cabinet.)
Add to the mix is its handling of the H usky pipeline
spill into the North Saskatchewan River and the racial
tensions with First Nations that sometimes unfairly are
blamed on the government of the day.
Now, throw in talk of privatizing SaskTel something Wall said he would consider if he received an
offer that was large enough to eliminate the operating
debt that’s now pegged at $4.1 billion. This cuts closer
in Regina where SaskTel’s head office and most of its
Parents Encouraged to Keep
Children's vaccinations Up-To-Date
As children head back to school, health
officials are encouraging parents to ensure
their children’s vaccinations are up-todate. Free childhood immunizations are
available for all infants and school-age
children in Saskatchewan.
“Immunization is the most
effective way to protect your children
against vaccine-preventable diseases,”
Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib
Shahab said. “It’s important to have
your children vaccinated on time and
on schedule. It provides them with the
best protection against highly contagious
and potentially serious diseases, such as
measles or whooping cough.”
There has been a recent increase
in pertussis (whooping cough) cases in
Saskatchewan. Publicly-funded routine
vaccinations are easily available in
Saskatchewan at public health clinics (for
pre-school children) and through schoolbased programs (for school age students).
Infants and preschool-age children
may receive the following free routine
vaccinations:
Diphtheria
Tetanus
Pertussis (whooping cough)
Polio
Haemophilus influenza type b
Measles
Mumps
Rubella
Varicella (chicken pox)
Meningococcal disease
Pneumococcal disease
Rotavirus
School-age children may
receive the following free routine
vaccinations:
• Grade 6 students - hepatitis B, bacterial
meningitis, varicella (chicken pox)
• Grade 6 female students – human
papillomavirus vaccine
• Grade 8 students – tetanus, diphtheria,
pertussis (whooping cough) booster
All residents over six months
of age may also receive a free influenza
immunization to protect them during flu
season. Public health flu clinics begin in
late October.
For more information, call
your public health office, visit www.
saskatchewan.ca/immunize or call
HealthLine 811.
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 [email protected] or drop
by the Martensville Messenger office at Bay #7 - 301
Centennial Drive North.
Provincial
Politics
jobs
are
located.
It’s
also
with
another
Murray Mandryk
thing that
has brought
home the fiscal reality for a lot more people …
and perhaps a sense that Wall and his Sask. Party
government weren’t nearly as clear with the public
about what they had in mind as they should have
been.
Finally, another social issue in play seems to
be Don McMorris’s recent charge for drunk driving.
That 80 per cent admit to having driven drunk at
some point in their lives, sadly, suggests this isn’t
as divisive an issue as perhaps it should be. What is
more troubling for the Sask. Party in this poll is the
68 per cent who suggested McMorris shouldn’t run
again. The survey results also showed that one-infive in this province still feel that it’s okay to drive
drunk if it’s only for a short distance.
This would seem to suggest another clear
division - likely, between urban and rural people. It
may be one more divide in a province that’s showing
a lot of signs of division … never a good thing for a
government.
Have Your Say on Health
System Restructuring
Saskatchewan
residents and interested
organizations
are
invited
to
provide
feedback to the recentlyannounced
advisory
panel
examining
the restructuring of
Saskatchewan’s health
care system.
On August 18,
the Minister of Health
appointed a three person
advisory panel to review
the current Regional
Health Authority (RHA)
structure and provide
advice on a system
with fewer RHAs in
Saskatchewan.
The panel will
also look at services
that could be delivered
more
efficiently
and effectively on a
provincial scale, examine
RHA board governance
and accountability, and
identify ways to enhance
measurement
of
health
system performance.
“Our panel wants
to support a robust and open
dialogue with key partners
and stakeholders throughout
this process,” panel member
Dr. Dennis Kendel said. “The
panel wants to ensure the
patient is at the centre of a
redefined system, which will
be structured and governed
to best support and improve
patient care.”
The panel is now
accepting online written
submissions
from
all
interested individuals and
groups. The submission form
can be accessed at www.
saskatchewan.ca. Submission
deadline is September 26.
The submission form includes
options for responding to each
of the four areas within the
panel’s mandate, though there
is no requirement to complete
all four.
“Restructuring
the health system is
an extremely complex
process,” panel member
Brenda Abrametz said.
“The panel welcomes
opinions from different
perspectives to enhance our
abilities to make informed
recommendations to the
government.”
“We
sincerely
appreciate everyone’s input
in this important review that
will help to shape the future
of Saskatchewan’s health
system structure,” panel
member Tyler Bragg said.
The
Advisory
Panel
will
provide
scheduled
updates
throughout the process. All
submissions are part of a
consultation process that
may be released publicly
upon the completion of the
panel’s work.