      Rural representation took a hit in Premier Brad Wall’s cabinet shuffle.
           One might argue this doesn’t mean much.
           After all, the 51-member Saskatchewan Party government caucus consists of 30 rural members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) as of the April 4 vote. Rural representation remains a backbone of this government.
           And as a matter of fact, nine of Wall’s new 17-member cabinet - still the majority - come from seats outside the four major cities.
           But with everyone in the province likely to take a financial hit in the spring 2017 budget, all areas of the province will be fighting to ensure it isn’t its ox being gored by the knife of government cuts.
           This may be where rural Saskatchewan should take notice of the cabinet changes.
           Essentially what happened in last week’s cabinet shuffle was Wall replacing six cabinet members (including rural MLAs Don McMorris, Bill Boyd, Herb Cox and Nancy Heppner) with five different members (of which only Wood River’s David Marit is a truly rural MLA).
           The government might argue that Bronwyn Eyre, the new Advanced Education Minister of Saskatoon-Stonebridge-Dakota, is a rural MLA, but that’s just silly.
           As stated, this means the rural cabinet compliment is down to nine, which is still a slim majority, but one that doesn’t exactly reflect the ratio of rural MLAs in the government caucus.
           Of course, such numbers are all relative to other factors.
           For starters, some portfolios are more important, and major ministries like energy (where Dustin Duncan is now minister), health, (Jim Reiter), economy (Jeremy Harrison), government relations (Donna Harpauer), environment (Scott Moe) and, of course, (the Premier) are now all represented in the provincial cabinet by rural MLAs.
           Moreover, some portfolios are also more important to rural residents than others. Besides key areas like the economy, energy and health, we still have Lyle Stewart in agriculture, former Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) president Marit in highways, and even Greg Ottenbreit in rural and remote health.
           The fact that we still have this second health minister portfolio is a little surprising.
           Asked to explain his reasons for dropping Jennifer Campeau (who had been the lone Indiginous member of his cabinet), Wall stressed that one less minister translates to a $450,000 saving (That saving consists of cabinet minister’s salary, the obligatory six political staffers, etc.).
           As such, it can be argued that other demographics in the province like the First Nations community took a bigger hit than rural Saskatchewan did. It may even say a little about what this government considers as most important when it comes to portfolios.
           Also, several rural MLAs received Legislative Secretary appointments, including Lori Carr (renewable resources and energy), Fred Bradshaw (environment and forestry), Hugh Nerlien (public service commission and public sector bargaining), Steven Bonk (economy) and Warren Kaeding (agriculture).
           Sure, it’s not a ministry, but it is the next best thing (even if it is unpaid). It is an added voice.
           Finally, the old adage that all of us are just one step off the farm applies to cabinet as well.
           So when you think of a good Blaine Lake-boy like Ken Cheveldayoff - who returns to cabinet as minister for Parks, Recreation and Culture - you don’t necessarily think of him as solely the representative of Saskatoon and Willowgrove.
           Also compare the rural representation we now see in the Wall cabinet with the NDP cabinets in days of yore when there were only one to three rural ministers. There is no comparison.
           But it is a tad strange how - like the rest of the province - the Saskatchewan Party government is becoming more urbanized.
           Gone are rural stalwarts like Rod Gantefoer, Ken Krawetz, June Draude, Bob Bjornerud and now Boyd and McMorris.
           That’s a lot of rural cabinet experience no longer in cabinet.
           It is a bit of a hit.
