MOE’S STEADY DRIVING WILL GET US THERE
You’d think Stage 3 of Premier Scott Moe’s Re-open Saskatchewan plan would feel a little more celebratory.
After all, Stage 3 in a five-stage plan is more than halfway and Moe is already making rumblings about Stage 4.
Last week, it was the announcement that Stage 4 would itself be two stages: 4.1 being child and youth day camps, outdoor pools and spray parks and seasonal/recreational outdoor sports and activities; and 4.2 being indoor rinks, libraries, museums, galleries, movie theatres, casinos and bingo halls.
Moreover, the nature of things reopening Monday, like bars and restaurants (to half capacity) and fitness centres, are celebratory by nature. And there’s lots to celebrate — a mere five new cases in Saskatchewan last week that saw the number of active cases fall to 16 from 53 a week ago Sunday.
One would think Moe is cruising into the scenic portion of this journey, but this isn’t hasn’t exactly been the annual summer vacation road trip. Such trips usually have a destination — or at least a specific time frame.
Instead, we’re driving and driving with no clue as to our final destination and it’s unnerving — especially for a premier seeking re-election this fall.
And this isn’t just a case of dealing with frustrated, misbehaving and impatient kids in the back seats bored by the seemingly endless prairie. These kids have legitimate grievances and there is no answer to the question: “Are we there yet?”
Moe has demonstrated both remarkable patience with those very legitimate complaints and remarkable consistency in his insistence that he intends to follow the advice of his health officials, regardless of how unpopular it is. Last week’s news from chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab that we won’t see
Stage 5 for another year certainly fits into that category.
It all would be a struggle for even the most gifted communicator — and Moe isn’t exactly known for subtle nuances in his messaging. So he’s struggled to sell proclamations of success like Saskatchewan’s nine deaths per million being less than 1/20th the Canadian average, while at the same time insisting playgrounds remain closed.
Other issues that have arisen and supposed allies haven’t been of help lately, either.
For example, issues of racial inequality are tough for any government or political party, but are particularly difficult for conservatives because they inevitably point to problematic local race relations, like the still simmering anger over the killing of Red Pheasant First Nations resident Colten Boushie.
It’s been unhelpful that conservatives — especially those on the far right — are choosing to make such issues about perceived hypocrisy of Black Lives Matter rallies not subscribing to social distancing or Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seemingly condoning this by taking a knee at a rally.
And even as federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has been completely on point in pointing out Trudeau is ducking Parliament, it has also tended to fly in the face of the Saskatchewan Party’s reluctance to reopen the legislature.
But lest anyone assume Moe’s journey is a doomed summer car trip from hell, consider how incredibly well Moe and his party are doing.
According to a recent Angus Reid survey, 77 per cent of those surveyed say they are, overall, pleased with how COVID-19 has been handled in Saskatchewan. Fifty-eight per cent suggested Moe is reopening at just the right pace and 61 per cent believe he’s handling the economy well, notwithstanding the hammering it’s taken.
All this translates into 57 per cent suggesting they’d vote Sask. Party compared with only 32 per cent for the NDP — a mind-boggling 25 per cent lead after the biggest challenge for any Saskatchewan government in recent memory.
It seems very much that people are simply looking for an outlet for complaint, but ultimately recognize that it will one day be over and that’s there’s no point in blaming government. All Moe has to do is put up with the complaints and keep driving.