Saskatchewan’s political system deems it necessary to have 61 people huddle in the legislature on a semi-regular basis to do the business of directing provincial business affairs.
I use the word, “directing”, not “doing” because nobody in Saskatchewan believes MLAs do the actual trench and grunt work. That stuff is left for those who make a career out of serving the population in legislative offices and on the roads and in the communities. These are the workers, the staffers, who know the business and don’t have to change portfolios every few months. They stick to the tasks at hand in whatever ministry, department or agency they’ve been hired to serve as deputy ministers, directors, administrators, clerks and so on.
The regional MP is maybe the general manager perhaps? The MLA is the coach who also prepares the roster and the staff personnel who then select their team captains and assistant captains. Sort of like an NHL franchise eh? And then they go on to play the game of politics against other MPs, MLAs and office staffers, hoping to be on the winning side at least 60 per cent of the time, aiming for a playoff position.
I mean should anyone rely on a provincial cabinet minister, in any province, to provide deep insight into their ministerial portfolio when they’ve only been on that particular job for two to six months and knowing that within a year, they’ll probably be assigned to a different portfolio by the Premier or his or her acolytes within the next four months? Even those who prove to be super special in their ministerial jobs, only last a couple of years in that desired portfolio.
Nope, the MLAs have another real job to do. And it’s a tough one.
They are the people who have to dress up and go out into the public domain and explain what it is that their government or opposition is doing, or not doing, and why they are doing it, or not doing it because, well, it’s the budget. You know, the money we sent them to do those jobs. Budget counts and decisions made in the present most often resonate in the future, well after they have left the game.
It’s up to the opposition to point out the flaws and variances of the current governmental team that is in place representing the province and claim they can correct what they see as being wrong.
Dealing with this system within governments can’t be easy. Being the face and voice of departments that are spending our money in places we sometimes don’t really like, or understand, is pretty well uncharted territory for those of us within the ranks of the great unwashed public, demanding answers or quicker responses and results.
The newly assigned MLA has to do a lot of homework just to become acquainted with the portfolio they have just been assigned to, perhaps reluctantly.
One week they’re explaining why the highway their constituents wanted paved hasn’t been done yet and two months later, they’re talking about mental health issues as a social services minister and the following year, it’s the health, education, energy or agriculture business they’re expected to round up and get a grip on. They latch on to the details the public will hear about with the help of those aforementioned career office administrators, deputies and brief-case carriers.
If they find good employees in those ranks, the minister’s job becomes a bit easier and even if the government changes hands, it’s probably best if the newcomers to those cabinet offices make some effort to keep the crew intact, at least for a reasonable amount of time before they inject their own partisan helpers to keep things rolling in the background and adjoining offices. I guess we call that peaceful transition.
Today it seems my feeble little medulla wanted to focus attention on how some things might work in that there roundhouse in the park in Regina, but only from the perspective of a fortunate casual observer who has sometimes benefitted from the work done by the various Saskatchewan political franchises err, parties. Sometimes I too might feel the need to question the decisions and action plans, but still happy to know I’m being represented at all levels, by people who care so much about this province they’re willing to expose themselves to public scrutiny on a regular basis.
I’m guessing that it can’t be easy.
