I hit the campaign trail for Saskatchewan’s 29th general election. Of course, there was daily coverage of election promises, announcements of buying-votes — erm, rebates and message tracking. But I was also able to dig in to a few deeper issues before the Sask. Party claimed another sweeping majority government:
Durocher says Sask. Party can choose embarrassment or acceptance after Moe teases appeal
Tristen Durocher said the Saskatchewan Party needs to make a choice: "be embarrassed again while wasting precious time and money when there are bigger issues at hand, or accept the outcome of the legal process and stop for political reasons and public relations prior to an election trying to — excuse the term — stick it to the Indians."
Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe was on the campaign trail yesterday ahead of the Oct. 26 election when he was asked whether he would appeal a court decision against his government. He did not rule it out.
During the summertime, Durocher led a 44-day ceremonial fast while living in a teepee on grass across from the Saskatchewan Legislature after walking more than 600 kilometres to the site. He drew attention to high rates of suicide in the province — and accused the government of inaction.
Moe's government took the 24-year-old Métis man to court in a bid to get him off the lawn.
Sask. government's lack of response to HIV crisis warning points to systemic racism issues: advocate
Margaret Kisikaw Piyesis says Saskatchewan's health minister ignored warnings of a growing HIV "epidemic" — and she wonders why… HIV diagnoses jumped almost 30 per cent in 2019 from the year prior… Kisikaw Piyesis believes systemic racism contributed to the silence. The majority of people recently diagnosed with HIV in Saskatchewan have self-reported as Indigenous.
"They're not taking it seriously," said Kisikaw Piyesis. "They don't care about the people. They're letting them die."
Prospect of more female representation in the Sask. legislature remains dim
Loleen Berdahl says the low number of women elected in Saskatchewan politics will likely persist after the upcoming provincial election.
Saskatchewan has elected few women to the provincial legislature for decades, said Berdahl, who is the executive director at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy and Professor of Political Studies with the University of Saskatchewan.
"It's been very stalled," she said.
Between 1917 and 2011, no more than 13 women were elected to the provincial legislature at the same time. She predicted in 2013 that, "given the low priority placed on the issue in the province, the prairie plateau in women's legislative representation is likely to persist for some time to come."
Climate change a political topic in Sask., yet absent from campaign trail
Maureen Huot has been busy delivering lawn signs during this Saskatchewan election cycle. She's not a politician and doesn't work for a party. Instead, Huot is distributing black and white lawn signs that read "I vote for climate action."
The reusable signs are not a partisan initiative, she said. They're an invitation for politicians to talk earnestly about the future.
"They're hard conversations," said Huot, who is co-chair of Regina EnviroCollective. "But we also feel that if you're going to come knock on my door and tell me why I should vote for you, you need to understand the actual urgency."
Huot has become frustrated by what seems to be a lack of political will to transition to renewable energies. She's also disheartened by how the issue — one she said affects all people — has been politicized.
Calls for action behind apology grow as Sask. Party addresses breast and beer game
Sask. Party candidate Alex Nau said he regrets hosting a spin-the-wheel game in which participants had to show their breasts or have beer shot down their throat. But Jill Arnott said there is a lack of meaningful action behind his apology.
"When you are setting yourself up as a leader, then you need to lead. You need to be accountable, your example needs to be better," Arnott, who is the executive director of the University of Regina's Women's Centre, said.