Suddenly it all makes sense

It took Brian Topp's theory as to who's calling the shots when it comes to Alberta oil exports to alert me to the possibility. But doesn't the Sask Party's statement that it's receiving instructions from its corporate masters "around the clock" make a lot more sense if it's one of the governments being run from overseas?

(Edit: fixed typo.)

One of these things is not like the other

How often did the Wall government make it a priority to consult with, say, SCN before deciding to eliminate it? The answer is not once in two and a half years:

But as someone who has also served in numerous capacities in the Saskatchewan film and video industry, from CTV's program advisory board to the head of the film board, what Gamracy finds offensive is that the government would arbitrarily eliminate SCN without seeking consultation and without attempting to understand how SCN fits as an intricate part of Saskatchewan's film industry puzzle.

Actually, Gamracy would have even been happy with the simple courtesy of either of the Sask. Party government's culture ministers meeting with her or the SCN board in two and half years of government.

Gamracy, who has served as SCN board chair since 2007, says she has not met with a government minister since the last NDP minister responsible for the film industry. "I can say unequivocally I've never been treated so disrespectfully," she said, adding that she certainly called and e-mailed to arrange meetings with Sask. Party government ministers and their officials.

How about consulting the entire province when it came to TILMA II?

NDP Leader Dwain Lingenfelter also accused the Saskatchewan government of not living up to a commitment to consult with the public.

"Now that the premier's signature is on the document we still don't know what's in it because none of us have really had time to digest the details," Lingenfelter said. "What we're really urging people to do is to get the document, read it and study it and not simply listen to the premier's spin."

Wall said the people of Saskatchewan had a say during public hearings on TILMA in 2007, which took place under the previous NDP government.

And it's no different for the province's privacy watchdog when it comes to the use of patients' personal health information for fund-raising:

But McMorris said that when he spoke of formal consultations, he was referring to the ones that took place between the health ministry and Information and Privacy Commissioner Gary Dickson between 2004 to 2007 under the previous NDP government.

McMorris said there was no need to seek Dickson's formal opinion again this year when the Saskatchewan Party government decided to proceed with the change to health privacy rules, because his opposition to the idea had already been made clear.

But have no fear: at least one group enjoys a perpetual open door to the Wall government:

Hon. Mr. Cheveldayoff: — Mr. Speaker, Enterprise Saskatchewan consults with industry around the clock, around the calendar. They make sure that those consultations take place, Mr. Speaker, whether they're in the summertime, whether in the fall, whether in budget cycle or without budget cycle.

So the moral of the story: if you want a 24-hour hotline to the Wall government, all you have to do is become one of its private-sector benefactors. But if you're not in that group, then you can expect to be ignored for years at a time and told you had your chance to speak when the NDP was in office.

One promise you can trust

Last night, I noted that the Wall government was abandoning one of its excuses to push for nuclear power by declaring that it wasn't going to bother keeping any promises when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. Now, Crown Corporations Minister Kevin Cheveldayoff is apparently determined to undercut another one by promising that the Sask Party will deliver increased power bills for years to come.

Which raises the question: will there be so much as a single excuse left standing by the end of the week other than a desire to enrich the Sask Party's good friends at Bruce Power?