Party to push for independence

Prairie Freedom Alliance wants Saskatchewan to go at it alone

Saskatchewan’s independence movement is in a state of flux, and Jake Wall thinks he can ride a new wave of western alienation to a few seats in the provincial legislature.

He says Saskatchewan should go it alone if need be, and let Manitoba and Alberta join in later.

“Somebody has to start it,” he said.

The 55-year-old crane operator of Belizean birth is well aware that there’s already a provincial party with the word “independence” in its name. But he wants his Prairie Freedom Alliance, founded in January 2017, to take over the mantle. Separation might be a niche market, but Wall sees a chance to move in and fill a political void.

Under its new leader, Neil Fenske, the Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan no longer officially seeks independence for Saskatchewan.

“A few years ago, our board decided to basically jettison all our policy and changed principles around, so right now we’re not exactly a separatist party,” said Fenske.

Fenske said the party is even considering a name change. He said he remains “independence minded,” though his party now focuses its energies on making politics more democratic by decentralizing power.

That’s where Wall thinks Fenske has it wrong, and why he’s not worried about vote splitting. He thinks he’s the one with the wind at his back. He says he is more than halfway to his goal of gathering 2,500 signatures — enough for Prairie Freedom to become a registered party in time for the next provincial elections.

The Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan is already registered, and ran in a recent byelection in Regina Northeast. Its candidate, Mark Regel, got 37 votes.

But Wall said his movement now has 80 volunteers canvassing for signatures. He’s hoping for a breakthrough in 2020.

“Best-case scenario would be we run in 15 ridings and win three or four,” Wall said, adding that he thinks his best shots are in the province’s oil county, where people are really “feeling the pinch.”

The two parties are united in their populism, with both leaders saying they want a government run by “the people.” Wall says he sees himself in the mould of Maxime Bernier and Doug Ford, while Fenske distrusts centralized power.

Neither have kind words for Justin Trudeau.

“Our country is being destroyed,” said Wall. “It’s being decimated by the policies of Trudeau and his Liberal faction. It is being completely decimated and we will not have a Western culture left in four more years if he gets elected again.”

Fenske said if “the same foolish system” keeps going then support for independence will grow. He criticized the equalization formulation and the Liberal push for tougher gun control.

Where the two sides differ is strategy. Wall calls Fenske “out of touch,” his party ’s ideas “archaic.” He believes the Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan is rudderless, and lacks the coherence to win anything.

“There’s no leadership in it,” Wall says. “Everyone does their own thing.”

Fenske acknowledges that he doesn’t require his candidates to adopt a party line, and allows them to push their own pet ideas. Wall believes that opens the door to extremism. Fenske calls it democracy.

“We want to give the policy decisions back to MLAS,” Fenske said. “So basically, instead of the party having a big policy book that gets forced down MLAS’ throats, we feel that MLAS should bring forth the policies they are excited about.”

Prairie Freedom does have a policy book, or at least a platform, clearly laid out on its website. While Wall said he’s attracting people from all over the political spectrum, his priorities veer rather sharply to the right.

He rejects the current system of sex education, saying young kids “don’t need to know about sperm and eggs and stuff like that.”

He wants a tough on crime approach, with elected judges and a focus on victims. He’s calling for welfare reform and a crackdown on illegal immigration. He’s also pushing a few fringe ideas, like government funding for homeopathic medicine. He is personally suspicious of the flu shot.

On economics, Wall believes in a “Saskatchewan first” mentality.

“Saskatchewan could be the richest place in this in this country, if not the world, because we have the natural resources,” he said. “Pretty much all of the ones known to man are sitting right here in our province but none of them are being completely developed — they’re shipped out raw.”

Wall isn’t worried that Saskatchewan, with only 1.1 million people and no direct access to the coast, would be a bit player dwarfed by its neighbours. He said a manufacturing industry will come with the right incentives. He pointed to treaties that would guarantee access to the oceans.

“We can do the unthinkable and that’s to become self sufficient,” he said. He thinks the movement will succeed, sooner or later. In Wall’s view, Liberal policies will likely lead to the breakup of Canada within 20 years.

“Western Canadians are getting screwed over by the Liberal every time you turn around,” he said.

“Now is the time, because it’s never been this bad.”