Foxes and henhouses

For all the talk about what the Wall government has done to influence the federal election campaign, there may be more reason for concern about what they're doing within the province while attention is being paid elsewhere. That's right: in the wake of the listeria outbreak and concern about the federal government similarly abandoning any regulatory responsibility for food production, airlines and other industries - not to mention a U.S. economic meltdown caused by insufficient financial oversight - Wall is putting business interests alone in charge of reviewing the province's regulatory structure:

Establishment of a new advisory council, to make recommendations on how to reduce the burden of governmental red-tape faced by Saskatchewan businesses, was announced Wednesday.

But skeptics were asking questions about whether a single interest group, specifically business, is being given too much control over issues that have broad public interest implications in protecting public health, the environment and avoiding other problems.

The Regulatory Modernization Council unveiled Wednesday will consist of seven people. All seven have senior positions with Saskatchewan businesses or business organizations.

Sadly, it'll be a few years before Saskatchewan gets another chance to replace Wall and company with a more responsible government. But at the very least, it'll have the chance now to try to make sure at least one level of government is willing to do its job rather than simply leaving business to regulate itself.