Social conservatives have plagued the Sask. Party from Day 1

Flash back exactly 20 years ago, when the stitching in the newly patched-together Saskatchewan Party appeared to be coming apart at the seams.

This was supposed to be a true Saskatchewan Party, reflective of the province’s majority freeenterprise view with enough social consciousness to be attractive to most everyone. But its initial gathering in Saskatoon was hijacked by social conservatives — many, anti-abortionists who had been attracted by the prospects of moulding this new political force into their own likeness.

Perhaps that abortion debate didn’t come to fruition at that first Sask. Party convention, but social conservatives did pass resolutions calling for an end to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, chain gangs for prisoners and boot camps for young offenders. (A decade later and under Brad Wall’s leadership, such resolutions were suddenly expunged from the Sask. Party record of past resolutions.)

It made for bizarre scenes at that 1997 convention. There was former Liberal candidate Robin Bellamy (who followed Rod Gantefoer, Ken Krawetz, June Draude and Bob Bjornerud) trying to explain to Sask. Party “delegates” why boot camps don’t really work. There was former Progressive Conservative social services minister Grant Schmidt (who once advised welfare mothers to grow gardens like his wife did) sounding like the voice of reason by arguing such resolutions would not be palatable.

Alas, a hard rubber stamp of social conservatism has been imprinted on the Sask. Party. Its ink has been indelible, never quite fading.

Neither back then nor now has anyone in the Sask. Party made any bones about the fact that their raison d’être has been to defeat the NDP and what the right views as the regressive record of growth and development under Saskatchewan NDP governments.

From Day 1, the Sask. Party’s prime directive has been to defeat New Democrats. And lest anyone think this is untoward or unfair, consider the similar unfairness of our first-past-the-post system that has seldom perfectly reflected the wishes of Saskatchewan’s centre-right majority.

Just two years earlier in 1995, Roy Romanow’s NDP won 42 of the 58 legislative assembly seats with less than half (47.2 per cent) of the vote. The Liberals received 34.7 per cent that year while the PCs received 17.9 per cent of the popular vote. Two years after the Sask. Party’s formation in 1999, Romanow’s NDP won 29 of 58 seats with only 38.7 per cent of the popular vote — less than the 39.6 per cent received by the Sask. Party, who were badly hampered by the Liberals’ 20.2 per cent of the vote.

In fact, Wall’s three majority popular vote wins in the past 10 years were as many as Saskatchewan had seen in the previous 36 years from 1971 to 2007.

The long-standing lesson the party is failing to learn is that it’s not very successful when it’s seen to be placating social conservatives. It leads to other potential free-enterprise voters looking elsewhere to mark their ballots.

Consider the StarPhoenix’s story by Alex MacPherson that within the last year, Wall’s government examined a law in which girls under 18 years of age would be forced to receive parental consent before getting an abortion — something that would create multiple constitutional issues and “insurmountable” problems. according to provincial government documents.

Consider that three of the current leadership hopefuls (Ken Cheveldayoff, Scott Moe and Rob Clarke) expressed support for this notion in the RightNow survey, even though two of them were in cabinet in the past year and would have been privy to the legal opinion cabinet sought.

Consider that the sudden hard-line appeal to pro-lifers by Cheveldayoff doesn’t seem all that coincidental, given that it comes during a Sask. Party race when candidates have had significant difficulty distinguishing themselves from one another.

That politicians in this party are still using social conservative foot soldiers for their own political gain (with no evidence that they can or will actually address the abortion issue when in government) seems both unethical and troubling.

But that the Sask. Party still doesn’t seem to get that hard-line social conservatives are a political problem is even more bizarre.