Elliott, Berntson contributed in different ways
One’s contribution to public life is judged by a rather unblinking eye.
Good people can contribute mightily by doing good things. But, ultimately, you are not judged by whether you were a good or bad person. Your historic contribution tends to be judged by your impact.
Recently, this newspaper carried the obituaries of two people who contributed to public life in two very different ways.
The first was Saskatchewan statistician Doug Elliott, whose passing from cancer was accompanied by much sorrow for the loss of a good man.
Kind words are reserved for everyone upon their passing, but in the case of the statistician and Sask Trends Monitor publisher it’s unlikely anyone can find anything unkind to say.
His work as a statistical analyst was flawless, making his succinct opinions coveted by government, business, labour and the media alike.
“He was a brilliant man. Absolutely brilliant,” said Regina Mayor Michael Fougere. “Good with numbers and a very articulate guy. He knew his stuff very well, but he could communicate it very well.”
Having obtained his master’s degree in mathematics and statistics from the University of Regina in 1974, Elliott influenced those responsible for public policy. We owe Doug a debt of gratitude for keeping decades of political leadership on track, and for patiently educating media types (I personally owe Doug much) on statistical matters like the monthly labour statistics.
But while Doug Elliott is someone who should be admired, his type of contribution to public life was more indirect than those who seek public office.
In that regard, it’s somewhat puzzling more isn’t being said about the death of former senator and deputy premier Eric Berntson.
Maybe it’s because no one knows quite what to say about Berntson’s quiet passing last week because of the more nefarious elements of his political career. Again, our good graces prevent us from dwelling on anyone’s negatives when they die.
Berntson was one of the central players in the Progressive Conservative caucus communication allowance scandal, convicted of fraud exceeding $5,000 after wrongfully receiving $41,735 of public money. Upon losing all his court appeals, in 2001 he resigned his Senate seat, to which he had been appointed in 1990 by former PC prime minister Brian Mulroney as one of the infamous GST Senators. (The Senate was expanded to ensure passage of the federal sales tax to services.)
However, notwithstanding these events — and the overall record of the 1980s PC government — let us be very clear that Berntson’s effect on this province has been like few others in Saskatchewan politics.
Without Eric Berntson — one of the first conservatives to re-enter the legislature in 1975 and the man instrumental in getting Grant Devine selected PC leader and building the team that swept the province in 1982 — there would have been no Progressive Conservative government.
If the PC government had never been elected, the Saskatchewan Party may have never been created. Directly and indirectly, those two events — two of the biggest in modern Saskatchewan history, which have had profound effects on economic development and ownership of public assets — may very well be Berntson’s legacy. It has produced a massive shift in this province, and it might not have happened were it not for Berntson’s single-minded dedication to a free-enterprise philosophy and to a political movement to deliver this view.
“I love the guy; he was a very loyal and good friend,” Devine told Leader-post reporter D.C. Fraser on Wednesday. “He devoted his life to public life. Wherever he went, when people talk about him, they will say he was so talented and he worked so endlessly.”
Admittedly, there may not be all that many who hold such personal admiration. But that might matter less than his long-term impact.
Sometimes history judges a person’s contribution by his or her graceful, patient passion, as we will judge Elliott’s sizable contributions.
But history dispassionately judges others by the change they create, which will likely be the case for Berntson.