To get through this time of year, I try to keep myself busy looking for news wherever it might be.
Unfortunately, it’s pretty hard to cover municipal politics when everyone in municipal politics is somewhere else. So, I started up the car and braved the cold conditions on my way to the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Convention in Saskatoon last week.
I wish I could say the convention was exciting. Quite honestly, it was the most boring and depressing SUMA convention I have attended. The main reason was Premier Brad Wall’s big downer of a convention speech last Monday.
He said the deficit was now up to $1.2 billion and that “everything is on the table” to address it. Those could include tax increases, or even cuts in education and health.
I should point out Premier Wall is notorious for using SUMA as his venue to frighten everyone about what the budget might contain. The premier usually takes the opportunity to voice his doom and gloom about possible tax increases and cuts in the budget.
It’s by design, so that when the final budget is delivered, everyone ends up pleasantly surprised. But this news is especially bad. There is no hiding from $1.2 billion.
Of course, Opposition leader Trent Wotherspoon heard this speech and he tore into Wall when he spoke to reporters. He was basically calling the premier a liar.
The other big news, I guess, is what is happening with “transformational change.”
Or more accurately, what is not happening. It sounds as if Education Minister Don Morgan is not going to go ahead with school board amalgamations or with doing away with school board elections.
I wasn’t at the SUMA cabinet ministers’ bear-pit session, but Morgan was telling delegates the feedback has been overwhelmingly against it. Well, even I could have told you that. They didn’t need to waste money on this “advisory panel” crisscrossing the province. They could have just phoned me.
Like I said, this convention was a real downer. The delegates even had to elect a new president of SUMA, because the previous one was kicked out in the municipal election.
It’s this sort of news where you just want to say “blah” to February.
This always seems like a frustrating month, starting with Groundhog Day when all you want to do is kick the groundhog for predicting six more weeks of winter.
These conditions are driving people up the wall. There is no other explanation for what happened at that crazy bantam hockey game in Hague, which got called off in controversial fashion when fans apparently went too crazy with their abuse of the referees.
Clearly the bitter cold, combined with the inevitable warm spells, have impacted more than a few people’s brains. People are going off the edge.
But it could be worse. You could be in the deep South of the United States. In the past couple of weeks or so, tornadoes hit Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and most recently New Orleans.
I guess we should be pleased, then, with -40 C conditions that control the mosquito population.
“Saskatchewan is the best place to live!” Right.
One popular way for Saskatchewan people to cut winter short is to dip into the finances and go to places like Phoenix, Ariz.
That is exactly what a bunch of Saskatchewan Roughriders fans are doing. They are taking a trip there to see an Arizona Coyotes game. And they are wearing their green jerseys the whole time, including at the game.
Whether this is good for restoring anyone’s sanity, though, is questionable.
There is just no letup to “Rider Pride,” none. Even with football season totally over, fans cannot let go of it, not even for a few weeks in winter.
Moreover, this is slavish loyalty to a team that is good at driving everyone crazy. This squad won five games last season! They even just got rid of quarterback Darian Durant!
I may be a Riders fan, but if I were down there in Arizona for a few days, I’d want nothing to do with the Riders and nothing to do with Saskatchewan!
I’d be there trying to escape every last bit of life in Saskatchewan. But down there it’s difficult:
Example no. 1: They have a hockey team, where you run the risk of encountering fans like the ones in Hague recently.
Example no. 2: There’s Tim Hortons down in Glendale, right in the arena.
Example no. 3: There are Fuddruckers locations in the greater Phoenix area.
But you need to be careful if you’re going to Fuddruckers. In December, a vehicle crashed through a wall at their location in Mesa.
So if you really are going on a Phoenix getaway with a view to saving your sanity, here are some tips. First, do not bring your Riders jersey. Wearing it is just one more thing you’d have to explain to customs people at the airport in Donald Trump’s America.
Second, instead of going to Tim Hortons or Fuddruckers, go somewhere else and make sure it has a sturdy wall to keep out the traffic.
Also, instead of going to the hockey game in Glendale, do something different and go to the NBA basketball game in Phoenix.
Hold on. I understand these Riders fans will be wearing their jerseys at the Phoenix Suns game, too. Never mind.
Anyway, Saskatchewan people sure seem to love Arizona. The more I think of it, Arizona might turn out to be a good place to live permanently, year round, for lots of folks from here.
You’ll still see folks show up in their Riders jerseys, so you’ll feel right at home. You’ll still enjoy Tim Hortons and Fuddruckers. There’s still plenty of football to watch, but you can do other things the rest of the year.
Plus, you’ll escape winter and escape the province’s $1.2 billion deficit!
Wait a minute. In the summer, they get scorpions down there. Also, Arizona has killer bees. And temperatures in the summer are 40 C!
Well, it seemed like a good idea.
