untitled

Premier Romanow: Militarizing Health Care and Killing
Rural Saskatchewan

Nipawin - March 20, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis

rural Saskatchewan is being penalized . . .
Plains Hospital closure
Blaine Bradshaw, a resident of Carrot River, wrote the letter "Hospital conversion blow to Carrot

River area" which was published on March 15, 2000 by The StarPhoenix. In this letter, Bradshaw

writes "I wonder if rural Saskatchewan is being penalized for the tens of millions of dollars the

Regina Health District went over-budget with the Plains Hospital closure." Yes, rural

Saskatchewan is being penalized for the $50 million overrun for the closure of the Plains Health

Centre, but rural Saskatchewan is being mostly penalized for the lack of vision of this government.

selling out rural Saskatchewan to big corporations
We are undergoing changes from an industrial economy to the knowledge and information based

economy, and our leaders are selling out rural Saskatchewan to big corporations. The agricultural

crisis is certainly affected by the interest of the global agro-business corporations to have low

commodity prices and by the deregulation of the transportation system, but this crisis could have

been smoothed out by proper governmental policies to diversify our economy, and inform the

public of the occurring economic changes.

puppets of the government
As health care is concerned, this government could have provided the decentralization of health

services, instead, the establishment of the health care districts has been a scam by this government

to centralize health services for the benefit of the urban bureaucracy and big corporations. The

districts were supposed to be independent agencies, instead they are puppets of the government

and of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO).

private contracts selling out our resources, and killing rural Saskatchewan
In 1995, in a meeting I had with Wayne Strelioff, Provincial Auditor, he mentioned that SAHO

was going to be eventually audited by his office. Also, Wayne Strelioff confirmed that the districts

were independent agencies and that these districts were directly approachable for the marketing of

high technology services, such as payroll and accounting. We know today that SAHO is not

audited by the office of the Provincial Auditor, and we also know, as mentioned above, that the

districts are puppets of both the government and SAHO. The government and the districts have

not complied with The Health Districts Act in the past⁽¹⁾, and SAHO, along with Saskatchewan

Health, has undermined the autonomy of the districts with a myriad of private contracts selling

out our resources, and killing rural Saskatchewan.

our future has been already privately contracted out
Today, creation of wealth and provision of services take second place to the big health care

contracts selling out our resources, and this is why we have lawyers at the helm of our health

care system. We have Brian Rourke⁽²⁾, as the Supreme Asset of the Saskatchewan Association

of Health Organizations, and we will have Louise Simard⁽³⁾, former Minister of Health and lawyer

with MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman, as president and CEO of SAHO. In 1991, the Romanow's

government came to power under the slogan "Open the books", today they cover their assets under

the confidentiality clauses of the so called private contracts; after all, this is what to expect from a

government which was formed giving the finger to the Saskatchewan people⁽⁴⁾. This government

has no vision because our future has been already privately contracted out.

rural Saskatchewan bears the strongest penalty for such wastes
The Saskatchewan Health Information Network (SHIN), the Telehealth projects, the closure of

the Plains Health Centre, the 10 million dollars deficit of the Saskatoon Health Board, the 30

million dollars deficit of the Regina Health Board, the Stargarden's defunct project and SAP

payroll have cost a tremendous amount of resources, and again rural Saskatchewan bears the

strongest penalty for such wastes. Health care is mismanaged but at the same time, as I mentioned

above, is being sold out to big corporations and for the short term benefit of urban Saskatchewan.

Remember when Pat Atkinson defended the overrun of the closure of the Plains Health Centre and

stated "Nothing has been hidden, There's no smoking gun, No one has run with the money?⁽⁵⁾"

She was right, nobody ran with the $50 million, but these millions of dollars not only have been a

waste of taxpayers money but they didn't circulate in rural Saskatchewan either.

Telehealth project
In one of my past articles, I mentioned how paradoxical it was to see the closure of the Carrot

River Hospital, when at the same time money was being wasted for a never ending Telehealth

project⁽⁶⁾. I also mentioned that the Telehealth project was technologically obsolete and that our

local high technology businesses were being deprived of deserved opportunities.

SAIC &
General Dynamics Corporation
I have always opposed the "law and order" mentality of this government⁽⁷⁾ and of our Tin Pot

dictators. Do you know that the businesses supporting SHIN⁽⁸⁾ and Telehealth⁽⁹⁾ are American

conglomerates involved in the military area of operations? Let us hope that health care reform

don't include the further court martialling of our family members and the further killing of rural

Saskatchewan.

------------Endnotes:

Quote by Donella Meadows "challenging a paradigm is not a part-time job. It is not sufficient to make your point once and then blame the world for not getting it. The world has a vested interest in, a commitment to, not getting it. The point has to be made patiently and repeatedly, day after day after day" ftp://sysdyn.mit.edu/ftp/sdep/Roadmaps/RM1/D-4143-1.pdf http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf/meadows/default.htm

General reference: Articles by Mario deSantis published by North Central Internet News http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/authors/desantis.html

1.
Refer to the Reports of the Provincial Auditor, 1995-1999. Provincial Auditor Saskatchewan

2.
-
Saskatchewan Health Information Network-SHIN: Ignoring its mandate and diverting money for the Y2K Nightmare, by Mario deSantis, November 3, 1999

3.
Louise Simard is the new CEO for SAHO, by Mario deSantis, March 13, 2000

4.
-
Governmental coalition in Saskatchewan: a private contractual deal at the expense of the electorate? By Mario deSantis, October 2, 1999

5.
-
The closure of the Plains Health Centre: The $50 million overrun and the gimmick of saving money in health care, by Mario deSantis, December 19, 1999

6.
-
North East Health District: the Closure of Carrot River Hospital and Telehealth, by Mario deSantis, March 9, 2000

7.
-
Milgaard's $10 million compensation: covering up the personal assets of our policing Saskatchewan Government, by Mario deSantis, June 24, 1999

8.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
SAIC will implement the SHIN initiative in partnership with Avnet, Digital Equipment, Ernst & Young, Professional Computer Services, SaskTel, and other suppliers and subcontractors, under the direction of the SHIN board. http://www.shin.sk.ca/about/Partner.htm
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is a diversified high-technology research and engineering company based in San Diego, California. SAIC and its subsidiaries have more than 39,000 employees with offices in over 150 cities worldwide. During the 1999 year, SAIC won $8 billion in new business. SAIC's staff has provided technical expertise to cleanup efforts at Three Mile Island and Prince William Sound and to the success of Operation Desert Storm.

9.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
HEALTH MINISTER ANNOUNCES NEXT PHASE OF TELEHEALTH PILOT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, Government of Saskatchewan News Release, Dec 04, 1998, Health 98 - 896. Saskatchewan Health and six health districts have recently signed a $1.5 million contract with Computing Devices Canada Ltd. (CDC) for further development of the Northern Telehealth Pilot Project. http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/1998Dec/896.98120401.html
Computing Devices Canada is a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation, and has achieved a global reputation for providing leading edge, technology-based solutions to the armed forces in over 20 countries.

Premier Romanow: Militarizing Health Care and Killing Rural Saskatchewan
*Nipawin - March 20, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis*


rural Saskatchewan is being penalized . . . Plains Hospital closure	Blaine Bradshaw, a resident of Carrot River, wrote the letter "Hospital conversion blow to Carrot
	River area" which was published on March 15, 2000 by The StarPhoenix. In this letter, Bradshaw
	writes "I wonder if rural Saskatchewan is being penalized for the tens of millions of dollars the
	Regina Health District went over-budget with the Plains Hospital closure." Yes, rural
	Saskatchewan is being penalized for the $50 million overrun for the closure of the Plains Health
	Centre, but rural Saskatchewan is being mostly penalized for the lack of vision of this government.

selling out rural Saskatchewan to big corporations	We are undergoing changes from an industrial economy to the knowledge and information based
	economy, and our leaders are selling out rural Saskatchewan to big corporations. The agricultural
	crisis is certainly affected by the interest of the global agro-business corporations to have low
	commodity prices and by the deregulation of the transportation system, but this crisis could have
	been smoothed out by proper governmental policies to diversify our economy, and inform the
	public of the occurring economic changes.

puppets of the government	As health care is concerned, this government could have provided the decentralization of health
	services, instead, the establishment of the health care districts has been a scam by this government
	to centralize health services for the benefit of the urban bureaucracy and big corporations. The
	districts were supposed to be independent agencies, instead they are puppets of the government
	and of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO).

private contracts selling out our resources, and killing rural Saskatchewan	In 1995, in a meeting I had with Wayne Strelioff, Provincial Auditor, he mentioned that SAHO
	was going to be eventually audited by his office. Also, Wayne Strelioff confirmed that the districts
	were independent agencies and that these districts were directly approachable for the marketing of
	high technology services, such as payroll and accounting. We know today that SAHO is not
	audited by the office of the Provincial Auditor, and we also know, as mentioned above, that the
	districts are puppets of both the government and SAHO. The government and the districts have
	not complied with The Health Districts Act in the past⁽¹⁾, and SAHO, along with Saskatchewan
	Health, has undermined the autonomy of the districts with a myriad of private contracts selling
	out our resources, and killing rural Saskatchewan.

our future has been already privately contracted out	Today, creation of wealth and provision of services take second place to the big health care
	contracts selling out our resources, and this is why we have lawyers at the helm of our health
	care system. We have Brian Rourke⁽²⁾, as the Supreme Asset of the Saskatchewan Association
	of Health Organizations, and we will have Louise Simard⁽³⁾, former Minister of Health and lawyer
	with MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman, as president and CEO of SAHO. In 1991, the Romanow's
	government came to power under the slogan "Open the books", today they cover their assets under
	the confidentiality clauses of the so called private contracts; after all, this is what to expect from a
	government which was formed giving the finger to the Saskatchewan people⁽⁴⁾. This government
	has no vision because our future has been already privately contracted out.

rural Saskatchewan bears the strongest penalty for such wastes	The Saskatchewan Health Information Network (SHIN), the Telehealth projects, the closure of
	the Plains Health Centre, the 10 million dollars deficit of the Saskatoon Health Board, the 30
	million dollars deficit of the Regina Health Board, the Stargarden's defunct project and SAP
	payroll have cost a tremendous amount of resources, and again rural Saskatchewan bears the
	strongest penalty for such wastes. Health care is mismanaged but at the same time, as I mentioned
	above, is being sold out to big corporations and for the short term benefit of urban Saskatchewan.
	Remember when Pat Atkinson defended the overrun of the closure of the Plains Health Centre and
	stated "Nothing has been hidden, There's no smoking gun, No one has run with the money?⁽⁵⁾"
	She was right, nobody ran with the $50 million, but these millions of dollars not only have been a
	waste of taxpayers money but they didn't circulate in rural Saskatchewan either.

Telehealth project	In one of my past articles, I mentioned how paradoxical it was to see the closure of the Carrot
	River Hospital, when at the same time money was being wasted for a never ending Telehealth
	project⁽⁶⁾. I also mentioned that the Telehealth project was technologically obsolete and that our
	local high technology businesses were being deprived of deserved opportunities.

SAIC & General Dynamics Corporation	I have always opposed the "law and order" mentality of this government⁽⁷⁾ and of our Tin Pot
	dictators. Do you know that the businesses supporting SHIN⁽⁸⁾ and Telehealth⁽⁹⁾ are American
	conglomerates involved in the military area of operations? Let us hope that health care reform
	don't include the further court martialling of our family members and the further killing of rural
	Saskatchewan.

------------Endnotes:

	Quote by Donella Meadows "challenging a paradigm is not a part-time job. It is not sufficient to make your point once and then blame the world for not getting it. The world has a vested interest in, a commitment to, not getting it. The point has to be made patiently and repeatedly, day after day after day" ftp://sysdyn.mit.edu/ftp/sdep/Roadmaps/RM1/D-4143-1.pdf http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf/meadows/default.htm

	General reference: Articles by Mario deSantis published by North Central Internet News http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/authors/desantis.html

1.	Refer to the Reports of the Provincial Auditor, 1995-1999. Provincial Auditor Saskatchewan

2. -	Saskatchewan Health Information Network-SHIN: Ignoring its mandate and diverting money for the Y2K Nightmare, by Mario deSantis, November 3, 1999

3.	Louise Simard is the new CEO for SAHO, by Mario deSantis, March 13, 2000

4. -	Governmental coalition in Saskatchewan: a private contractual deal at the expense of the electorate? By Mario deSantis, October 2, 1999

5. -	The closure of the Plains Health Centre: The $50 million overrun and the gimmick of saving money in health care, by Mario deSantis, December 19, 1999

6. -	North East Health District: the Closure of Carrot River Hospital and Telehealth, by Mario deSantis, March 9, 2000

7. -	Milgaard's $10 million compensation: covering up the personal assets of our policing Saskatchewan Government, by Mario deSantis, June 24, 1999

8. - - - - - - -	SAIC will implement the SHIN initiative in partnership with Avnet, Digital Equipment, Ernst & Young, Professional Computer Services, SaskTel, and other suppliers and subcontractors, under the direction of the SHIN board. http://www.shin.sk.ca/about/Partner.htm Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is a diversified high-technology research and engineering company based in San Diego, California. SAIC and its subsidiaries have more than 39,000 employees with offices in over 150 cities worldwide. During the 1999 year, SAIC won $8 billion in new business. SAIC's staff has provided technical expertise to cleanup efforts at Three Mile Island and Prince William Sound and to the success of Operation Desert Storm.

9. - - - - - - -	HEALTH MINISTER ANNOUNCES NEXT PHASE OF TELEHEALTH PILOT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, Government of Saskatchewan News Release, Dec 04, 1998, Health 98 - 896. Saskatchewan Health and six health districts have recently signed a $1.5 million contract with Computing Devices Canada Ltd. (CDC) for further development of the Northern Telehealth Pilot Project. http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/1998Dec/896.98120401.html Computing Devices Canada is a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation, and has achieved a global reputation for providing leading edge, technology-based solutions to the armed forces in over 20 countries.

Premier Romanow: Militarizing Health Care and Killing Rural Saskatchewan

Premier Romanow: Militarizing Health Care and Killing
Rural Saskatchewan