Right in the centre - Tough decisions ahead

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Published on Thursday, December 1, 2016

By Ken Waddell

The Neepawa Banner

Recent news articles and columns show that, at both the provincial and federal levels, there will be a lot of decisions made in the near future. The Trudeau government is faced with decisions on everything from pipelines to election reform. The provincial government is faced with finding ways to both grow the economy and curb spending. The federal government doesn’t appear to care about curbing spending. The contrast is quite stark, as stark as the way Trudeau and Pallister spoke about the death of Fidel Castro, but that’s another story.

The federal government continues to pour money down the drain for things that don’t matter much. It seems there is no end of money available for combatting climate change. It isn’t as if Canada does much harm to the climate but come Hell or high water, the Trudeau government is intent on pretending that Canada actually matters when it comes to climate change. The best thing Canada could do on climate change is tell the rest of the world to get as clean as Canada is already and we would have achieved something.

Another major sinkhole is the CBC. Now back in the spotlight for using their highly subsidized position to go out and sell subsidized internet advertising, the CBC is plowing through a billion dollars per year and has the nerve to ask for more. Of all the Canadian government expenses, CBC TV is the biggest waste. CBC Radio should be kept for its original purpose, which was to provide a national communications method whereby we could get news quickly and hopefully accurately, across the nation in an efficient, affordable fashion. CBC Radio still has some value, but CBC TV and internet is of no value to Canadian taxpayers. The Liberal government won’t scale back the CBC to its original purpose and mandate. Seeing as the Conservative government didn’t either, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.

As to pipelines, there is a need for pipelines, well built, properly maintained pipelines. Even if a new pipeline is announced in the next little while and several could be, it will take years, if not decades, to get them approved and built. And I believe the North Dakota protesters have some valid arguments about environment and spiritual issues. That said, sometimes you can’t have it both ways. If you are going to protest oil, then you better not have traveled to the protest in a fossil fuel powered car or airplane. The irony behind some of the protests is rich.

Manitoba’s premier, Brian Pallister, has suggested he may open up collective agreements with public service employees. That won’t go over well, but it’s necessary. The previous government signed a five year agreement with civil servants. Pretty cute move as they knew full well that a five year agreement would out live the next election mandate. Considering that the previous NDP government was very obviously out of favour with the voters, it was a pretty brassy move. Pallister should open  the agreements and as gently as possible, get some concessions.

Now that statement won’t go over well either, but let’s look at the reality. Public service wages, in most cases, exceed private sector wages. Benefits are usually better as well. Public sector hours are usually more favourable, excluding health care workers. There is a problem though, common to the government and workers; the upper management levels seem to be paid overly well. That said, upper echelon wages in the financial industry are beyond reason. In my industry, newspapers, how can a million dollar bonus be justified for a large newspaper company executive when his corporation is teetering on bankruptcy?

What it all boils down to is examining reality and needs and the capacity to change. Governments and industry both waste a pot load of money every day. How to decide on priorities and get there is a tough job and we may see some tough decisions very soon.