Scott Moe’s Sask Party government appears weary, out of ideas, and disinclined to think too heavily about solutions to the real problems. The Saskatchewan electorate is also tired, and grumblings about this government are coming from a once unlikely source – farmers.
Farmers have kids and grandkids in their lives who take increasingly long bus rides to overstuffed schools taught by overworked teachers who are family and friends, and we are tired of hearing Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill drone on that ‘it’s about the wages’, when it so clearly is not.
We use a health care system in which we wait longer and drive further for services provided by nurses and health care workers who are members of our communities. We know what they are up against and are tired of seeing them ignored and blamed instead of supported.
This government's lack of accountability even extends to scapegoating farmers.
In her 2023-24 mid-year report, Finance Minister Donna Harpauer relied on a flimsy understanding of Sask Crop Insurance (SCIC) programs when she insisted that increased payouts to farmers were practically bankrupting the province, plunging her budgeted $1 billion projected surplus to a $250 million deficit.
Harpauer made the same claim after a record payout for losses from the 2021 drought. But when her math was questioned by the Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan, she called their request for an explanation ‘an attack on government’ while reminding (or threatening) APAS to remember not to take government support for granted.
Excuse me? It’s an insurance program. We pay premiums. And we can’t ask why we are blamed for government inability to balance a budget?
Insurance companies operate by investing money from premiums to build a fund large enough to cover claims when they happen.
Not so crop insurance. Instead of investing for the inevitable, the Sask Party takes premiums paid into SCIC – cost-shared by farmers and both levels of government – and puts them into general revenue to use for operations. In theory, the government ‘borrows’ these funds from SCIC, but at an incredibly low interest rate the government itself sets, giving the program no opportunity to rebuild its reserves.
Even after 2021, they kept draining the account. Last year's drought then forced them to borrow money at the current high interest rate to pay claims for which premiums (my money, and yours) had already been paid.
You see where this is going, right? Straight toward the projected deficit. Blame the farmers.
The practice of borrowing from government programs in this way is common but comes with a responsibility to properly invest and manage funds so enough is available for any required payouts. That has not been happening with SCIC under the Sask Party, and we are all paying for it.
Here’s the thing; every farmer is a business manager. We cope with constant change, we are accountable for every dollar coming and going, and if we don't do it well, we will not be in business anymore. Why don't we expect the same diligence from, and consequence for, those we elect?
Farmers and rural folk seem to refuse to challenge Sask Party policy even when it affects us. But when this government takes our vote so much for granted that it will mess with our programs and then blame us for their incompetence, I think it’s time we did.
