Opposition continues to misfire on key issues

An Opposition that can’t keep its focus fell victim this week to a government very good at creating distractions.

Perhaps it’s been ever thus in Saskatchewan politics (really, politics everywhere) where public attention spans are limited and oppositions without the same taxpayer-subsidized communication resources afforded to governments struggle to get messages out.

But with a looming election and so little time to make their final case to the voters, it’s even more vital for Ryan Meili’s New Democrats to seize upon every opportunity presented. And they’ve had a few ...

A 2020-21 budget with a $2.4-billion deficit released four months before a general provincial election is a once-in-a-generation gift for any opposition. And given that we were looking at $22.74 billion in public debt before the pandemic crisis, Finance Minister Donna Harpauer can’t credibly frame this as exclusively a

COVID -19 problem.

Moreover, Meili could lean on an NDP history of coming in and cleaning up the messes of their further-right predecessors in government. After all, it’s not exactly as if Meili and company have been shy about hearkening on other long-standing NDP political themes like the Sask. Party’s alleged intentions to sell off our Crowns or privatize health care. Thursday, the NDP presented a bill to repeal greater utilization of private MRIS ... although most people aren’t quite as outraged by this issue as New Democrats.

Failing on the big issue, there still remains opportunities to score on the smaller issues that revolve around government competency, and the NDP has surely tried to do so. This week, it was a story about hot water (or just warm water, depending on who ask) flowing into the toilets of the admittedly troubled public-private partnership (P3)-built North Battleford Hospital.

But more often than not, the NDP have missed opportunities during this short, 14-day sitting.

For example, many in the public were seething after provincial auditor Judy Ferguson’s report Tuesday revealed the Highways

Ministry had spent an extra $140,000 to buy three fully automatic rifles, one AR-10 carbine and 12 silencers. Suffice to say, none of this is standard police issue.

Highways Minister Greg Ottenbreit later revealed the purchases were made by the highway patrol chief for supposed “training purposes” related to the unit’s added policing responsibilities — and that such purchases were not “acceptable equipment.” No kidding.

In was clearly a ridiculous purchase and while the chief in charge was dismissed, it raises serious questions on policing policy and overall government judgment and scrutiny. One might have even thought it was worthy of the NDP bringing it up in question period. Apparently not.

It’s just one example of a pattern in which the NDP seems unable to identify, focus on or create issues that would surely be to its own benefit. Contrast that with a government that’s been very good at distracting attention from its own problems.

Consider that on Tuesday when the auditor was releasing her report — again, always a treasure trove for oppositions — the government was suddenly interested in telling us that it would not be using Huawei for Sasktel’s 5G network.

Wednesday, Environment Minister Dustin Duncan suddenly rediscovered the Sask. Party government’s interest in small modular reactors (SMR) with the appointment of a secretariat to oversee something we won’t see for another decade. Thursday, it was Parks, Culture and Sports Minister Gene Makowsky penning an angry missive to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over Saskatchewan being left out of the $46-million COVID -19 tourism support package delivered to Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.

You get the picture: Daily news tidbits just tantalizing enough to keep public/media attention looking elsewhere. It’s maddening, but it’s politics and the Sask. Party apparatus seems far better at it.

Meanwhile, the NDP can’t generate interest in issues gifted to them — likely its last chance to do so before the summer leading into a fall campaign.

And if Meili and the NDP can’t draw attention to legitimate government issues now, one wonders how they will do so on Oct. 26.