Awaz Apni

What can I say about last night's Saskatchewan election? While I was obviously hoping that all the polls were wrong and that the NDP could narrowly get into power once again, everyone was expecting a Saskatchewan Party government. Yes, there were some specific seats that surprisingly went from NDP to Sask. Party, but the grand total, province-wide results weren't all that different than I was expecting. What the Saskatchewan Party will do in government is anybody's guess. They could go along with what they've promised to do, or who knows, they could go back to the Devine-times style of government. But either way, the 16 year string of NDP governments is over. While it would have been nice to add at least another four years to that, one can't expect to be in government forever. At some point, people are going to change, and when you really think about it, we should be thanking the Saskatchewan people that they didn't decide to change in the 2003 or 1999 election...

What can I say about last night's Saskatchewan election? While I was obviously hoping that all the polls were wrong and that the NDP could narrowly get into power once again, everyone was expecting a Saskatchewan Party government. Yes, there were some specific seats that surprisingly went from NDP to Sask. Party, but the grand total, province-wide results weren't all that different than I was expecting. What the Saskatchewan Party will do in government is anybody's guess. They could go along with what they've promised to do, or who knows, they could go back to the Devine-times style of government. But either way, the 16 year string of NDP governments is over. While it would have been nice to add at least another four years to that, one can't expect to be in government forever. At some point, people are going to change, and when you really think about it, we should be thanking the Saskatchewan people that they didn't decide to change in the 2003 or 1999 election...

Last night, the Saskatchewan election leaders' debate took place in Regina between Brad Wall (Sask. Party), David Karwacki (Liberal) and Lorne Calvert (NDP and incumbent premier). Here is what I noticed last night, written in point form: 1. The format of the debate must have ticked a lot of people off.       While the statement speeches were handled quite well, I felt that the bickering that occurred during the actual debate times must have turned off people who already had a hunch that politics is 'skum-bag' sport. 2. Brad Wall focused much more on the NDP's history and his independent review than his actual policy.       Last night, Wall focused on two broad points: a) his platform has had an independent review by an economist (and that economist said it was balanced); and b) Saskatchewan pretty much is falling apart under Calvert. However, Wall really didn't mention much about his exact ideas and—for the ones he did bring up—how those ideas will make Sas...

Last night, the Saskatchewan election leaders' debate took place in Regina between Brad Wall (Sask. Party), David Karwacki (Liberal) and Lorne Calvert (NDP and incumbent premier). Here is what I noticed last night, written in point form: 1. The format of the debate must have ticked a lot of people off.       While the statement speeches were handled quite well, I felt that the bickering that occurred during the actual debate times must have turned off people who already had a hunch that politics is 'skum-bag' sport. 2. Brad Wall focused much more on the NDP's history and his independent review than his actual policy.       Last night, Wall focused on two broad points: a) his platform has had an independent review by an economist (and that economist said it was balanced); and b) Saskatchewan pretty much is falling apart under Calvert. However, Wall really didn't mention much about his exact ideas and—for the ones he did bring up—how those ideas will make Sas...

Wow, who know what all can happen with Saskatchewan politics during summer? But quite obviously a lot can happen, and don't forget the controversy with that. To start off, I should mention what is becoming a pretty controversial thing in this province: the NDP campaign. Currently, the most noticeable aspect of the pre-election campaign are the ' Wolf-in-sheep's-clothing ' ads, which appear of buses and billboards (the linked news article only really mentions the pamphlets), and will be in a pamphlet come election. Ever since this campaign came out (about a week ago), there has been at least a couple of articles on it every day in both of Saskatchewan's major newspapers. During this time, the Saskatchewan Party (essentially SK's Conservative Party) has spent all their efforts on trying to attack the NDP's campaign (surprisingly, they're not really attacking the NDP itself). The next portion of the NDP's pre-election campaign is called, " The Same...

Wow, who know what all can happen with Saskatchewan politics during summer? But quite obviously a lot can happen, and don't forget the controversy with that. To start off, I should mention what is becoming a pretty controversial thing in this province: the NDP campaign. Currently, the most noticeable aspect of the pre-election campaign are the ' Wolf-in-sheep's-clothing ' ads, which appear of buses and billboards (the linked news article only really mentions the pamphlets), and will be in a pamphlet come election. Ever since this campaign came out (about a week ago), there has been at least a couple of articles on it every day in both of Saskatchewan's major newspapers. During this time, the Saskatchewan Party (essentially SK's Conservative Party) has spent all their efforts on trying to attack the NDP's campaign (surprisingly, they're not really attacking the NDP itself). The next portion of the NDP's pre-election campaign is called, " The Same...

As we all know by now, Bill Casey, a Nova Scotia MP (who at the time of the vote was a Conservative MP), defied his government by voting against its 2007 budget. By doing so, he was kicked out of the Conservative caucus. Here in Saskatchewan, there has been a lot of talk about why the Saskatchewan Conservative MPs also didn't dare to vote against the budget, seeing that many—if not most people (including some members of the media )—people here are upset that Stephen Harper broke his promise to Saskatchewan. While people (particularly the provincial NDP government) have been talking about that for quite some time, this debate has very recently got to be more interesting: If a Nova Scotia Conservative MP can put his province first, why can't a Saskatchewan Conservative MP do the same? Saskatchewan Conservative MPs have clearly shown a lack of leadership; MPs are supposed to put their constituents before their party, just as Mr. Casey did for Nova Scotia (and it did pay off for ...

As we all know by now, Bill Casey, a Nova Scotia MP (who at the time of the vote was a Conservative MP), defied his government by voting against its 2007 budget. By doing so, he was kicked out of the Conservative caucus. Here in Saskatchewan, there has been a lot of talk about why the Saskatchewan Conservative MPs also didn't dare to vote against the budget, seeing that many—if not most people (including some members of the media )—people here are upset that Stephen Harper broke his promise to Saskatchewan. While people (particularly the provincial NDP government) have been talking about that for quite some time, this debate has very recently got to be more interesting: If a Nova Scotia Conservative MP can put his province first, why can't a Saskatchewan Conservative MP do the same? Saskatchewan Conservative MPs have clearly shown a lack of leadership; MPs are supposed to put their constituents before their party, just as Mr. Casey did for Nova Scotia (and it did pay off for ...