Sask. leaders' debate gave undecided voters clear contrast between party policies
Debate offers no major surprises, but long on detail
This is an opinion piece by Sarath Peiris, who spent his career at the Moose Jaw Times Herald and Saskatoon StarPhoenix. He was the StarPhoenix's opinions editor and editorial writer. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.
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Well, that was an entirely watchable Saskatchewan political leaders' debate on Wednesday evening, even though there weren't exactly any surprises for those who've been following the political announcements by the major parties over the past couple of weeks.
Compared to the verbal slugfest that was the 2007 leaders' debate — where Saskatchewan Party leader Brad Wall, NDP Leader Lorne Calvert and Liberal leader David Karwacki got down and dirty with an hour-long series of unintelligibly loud exchanges — the bout between Scott Moe and Ryan Meili was a civil affair that was long on detail, much of it within the margins of credibility. It afforded still-undecided voters a clear contrast between the policies on offer.
Moe, who is leading the Saskatchewan Party into an election for the first time, and Meili, who is doing the same with the NDP, both said they were satisfied with their debate performance. As for the inevitable question on who "won," a slight edge goes to Meili, who seemed at ease while Moe looked uncomfortable and frustrated at times.
Moe's demeanour was especially sour when Meili accused him of sending out two cabinet ministers to tell Tristen Durocher, a young Métis man camped on the legislature grounds to demand better suicide prevention services for Indigenous people, to "Get off my lawn!"
Asked by moderator Molly Thomas if he made a mistake by refusing to meet with Durocher, Moe stuck to his ground, saying the ministers had listened to Durocher. Yet, his discomfort was palpable.
While the debate covered a wide swath of issues, particularly notable was the inclusion of issues pertaining to Indigenous residents. While the answers from both leaders weren't detailed or even satisfying — promises of forestry jobs, better health care and more consultation — at least it was a recognition of the obligation to serve the needs of 16 per cent of provincial residents.
'Gotcha' moments
Today, with careful pre-debate coaching of leaders, "gotcha" moments that can leave an opponent reeling are rare. However, Moe seemed to catch Meili off-guard with an accusation of $4 billion in uncosted promises in the NDP platform— a bit of dubious financial storytelling involving Crown sector capital spending that could apply equally to Moe's plans for a $4-billion irrigation scheme and other investments.
In a mid-pandemic election campaign, where the cost of debt-financed spending promised by both parties to restore economic health to Saskatchewan are frighteningly reminiscent of the Grant Devine administration's profligacy, it was almost quaint to hear Moe raise the 1980s' plaintive cry that our kids will have to leave Saskatchewan under an NDP administration.
It was a bit galling to hear the leader whose two years at the helm didn't produce a balanced budget, and whose party racked up debt for much of its 13 years in office during the best of economic times, talk about the prospect of debt mounting under the NDP.
Of course, it's always difficult for a leader of a party that's been in power for 13 years to look anything but defensive about the government's record, which inevitably will have some weak spots no matter its overall results.
What was missing
There were a couple of issues that didn't get the attention they deserved.
Moe talked about food, fuel and fertilizer, and value-added processing as the backbone of the provincial economy, and said Saskatchewan jobs are based on exports and service industries that support them. Meili spoke of a future where returning the film tax credit and making investments in solar, wind and geothermal energy are key to building a sustainable economy.
Yet in a province that has a thriving information technology sector and where post-secondary institutions are hard-pressed to train enough computer scientists to keep up with demand, there was no mention of building a sustainable future by investing in this sector.
The important issue of political financing reform also wasn't addressed. Saskatchewan remains the wild west of political fundraising, where weak lobbying rules and out-of-province donations create the spectre of undue influence on public policies.
Perhaps that's the weakest point about having only a single leaders' debate in an election campaign that decides who governs for the next four years. Surely at least two debates over the course of a campaign — to inform voters and explore issues in a democracy — isn't asking for too much.
Watch the entire debate here:
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