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Premier Romanow's Government:

The Obsession of Saving Money Versus Building Healthier Communities

Nipawin - March 22, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis

re-conceptualize the provision of health services Working together to build healthier communities means striving to achieve our sense of individual

and collective freedom. It means feeling free to express ourselves in our work, in our home, in our

communities, and therefore we can feel free only if we get along with our neighbours. So, having

healthier communities means getting along and feeling free together in our communities. And, we

cannot build healthier communities unless we are healthy ourselves, with our bodies, with our

minds and with our actions. This concept of being healthy is a universal concept and we embraced

it, with difficulties, when Louise Simard, former Minister of Health, launched the Wellness model

of health for building healthier communities. Her "A Saskatchewan Vision for Health⁽¹⁾" was a

masterpiece of conceptual understanding on how we should strive all together to build healthier

communities and how we should re-conceptualize the provision of health services within this broad

understanding of the Wellness model of health.

save money and constrain our freedom Let me not go through Simard's vision of health, let me just say that her vision was a paper vision,

a vision enforced by legislation, and a vision executed autocratically by our government, our

bureaucracy and our Tin Pot dictators of any political colour and business affiliation. The main

paper goal of Simard's vision was to give back the responsibility for our health to our communities

through the formation of health districts; instead, our health has been dictated more than ever from

the ivory towers of the government and of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations

(SAHO). Simard's vision was put in paper because our leaders didn't have any vision, the only

vision they have is not for building healthier communities but to supposedly save money and

constrain our freedom to build healthier communities.

our inept leaders are not working for building healthier communities This is the paradox of our leaders, they put on paper our vision because they cannot express it

with their walks, with their talks, with their hearts, and with their actions. Our leaders don't have

a vision, their main objective is to save money against creating wealth, to build a Synchrotron

rather than provide needed education for our children, to create additional layers of bureaucracy

rather than furthering our imagination for working more creatively, to downsize people rather than

assisting their families, to increase the wealth of our global corporations rather than diversify our

economy. In short, our inept leaders are not working for building healthier communities, they

work with the numbers provided by the research work of our bean counters, statisticians,

economists, academicians and other eminent Big Brains; and in doing so they have created a

world for the few and privileged, a world where people are divided, alienated and unable to

express themselves.

overall drive to save money at any cost This government is not pursuing the democratic goal to enrich our communities and create wealth.

This government has the overall drive to save money at any cost because they have no imagination,

their Big Brains are so full of numbers that these numbers spill all over the place, on TV, on the

radio, even in the bedrooms of our politicians. I tell you something, all these numbers should be

flushed out into our sewage system so that our Big Brains can start thinking again and make sense

of whatever they say.

not for creating wealth and healthier communities but for saving money I have followed the later discussions about the regionalization or amalgamation of local

governments⁽²⁾ and I have read the recent article "SARM critic merits attention⁽³⁾" by Murray

Mandryk. In this article, Mandryk refers to the brief submitted by Fred Sutter to the Garcea's

panel on municipal renewal, and he tosses so many numbers to make your brain spin. All these

numbers centre on a municipal model that combines nine Rural Municipalities (RMs) and six

villages in southwest Saskatchewan. Again, the bottom line for describing this municipal model

is not for creating wealth and healthier communities but for saving money.

just a bunch of statistical numbers spin-doctored Now we know how the Wellness model worked for health care, it worked so well that the

government turned health care to a gambling casino⁽⁴⁾. Do we really want another casino in

Saskatchewan and legislate the new Municipal model of government? Yes, but only yes "IF

the people directly involved decide that is what they want to do! IF local citizens feel comfortable

with all forms of government moving further away from them... IF we heard the government had

been lobbied by our local councillors to force amalgamation of RMs⁽⁵⁾" With this government

there is no IF, just a bunch of statistical numbers spin-doctored by our consulting experts. This

is not democracy, this is not building healthier communities, and this is not saving money either

Honourable Premier Romanow!

----------------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

1.
-
A Saskatchewan Vision for Health, The Honourable Louise Simard, Minister of Health, Saskatchewan Health, August 1992

2.
-
Replace local government with economic regions: report, CBC Saskatchewan,http://sask.cbc.ca/ Web Posted | Mar 20 2000 8:46 PM

3.
-
SARM critic merits attention, by Murray Mandryk, The StarPhoenix, March 15, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

4.
-
Pat Atkinson: raising the finger and turning healthcare to a gambling casino, by Mario deSantis, February 3, 2000

5.
Government Is Putting It's Agenda Forward, by Edwin Wallace, January 29, 2000

Premier Romanow's Government: The Obsession of Saving Money Versus Building Healthier Communities

*Nipawin - March 22, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis*

re-conceptualize the provision of health services	Working together to build healthier communities means striving to achieve our sense of individual
	and collective freedom. It means feeling free to express ourselves in our work, in our home, in our
	communities, and therefore we can feel free only if we get along with our neighbours. So, having
	healthier communities means getting along and feeling free together in our communities. And, we
	cannot build healthier communities unless we are healthy ourselves, with our bodies, with our
	minds and with our actions. This concept of being healthy is a universal concept and we embraced
	it, with difficulties, when Louise Simard, former Minister of Health, launched the Wellness model
	of health for building healthier communities. Her "A Saskatchewan Vision for Health⁽¹⁾" was a
	masterpiece of conceptual understanding on how we should strive all together to build healthier
	communities and how we should re-conceptualize the provision of health services within this broad
	understanding of the Wellness model of health.

save money and constrain our freedom	Let me not go through Simard's vision of health, let me just say that her vision was a paper vision,
	a vision enforced by legislation, and a vision executed autocratically by our government, our
	bureaucracy and our Tin Pot dictators of any political colour and business affiliation. The main
	paper goal of Simard's vision was to give back the responsibility for our health to our communities
	through the formation of health districts; instead, our health has been dictated more than ever from
	the ivory towers of the government and of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations
	(SAHO). Simard's vision was put in paper because our leaders didn't have any vision, the only
	vision they have is not for building healthier communities but to supposedly save money and
	constrain our freedom to build healthier communities.

our inept leaders are not working for building healthier communities	This is the paradox of our leaders, they put on paper our vision because they cannot express it
	with their walks, with their talks, with their hearts, and with their actions. Our leaders don't have
	a vision, their main objective is to save money against creating wealth, to build a Synchrotron
	rather than provide needed education for our children, to create additional layers of bureaucracy
	rather than furthering our imagination for working more creatively, to downsize people rather than
	assisting their families, to increase the wealth of our global corporations rather than diversify our
	economy. In short, our inept leaders are not working for building healthier communities, they
	work with the numbers provided by the research work of our bean counters, statisticians,
	economists, academicians and other eminent Big Brains; and in doing so they have created a
	world for the few and privileged, a world where people are divided, alienated and unable to
	express themselves.

overall drive to save money at any cost	This government is not pursuing the democratic goal to enrich our communities and create wealth.
	This government has the overall drive to save money at any cost because they have no imagination,
	their Big Brains are so full of numbers that these numbers spill all over the place, on TV, on the
	radio, even in the bedrooms of our politicians. I tell you something, all these numbers should be
	flushed out into our sewage system so that our Big Brains can start thinking again and make sense
	of whatever they say.

not for creating wealth and healthier communities but for saving money	I have followed the later discussions about the regionalization or amalgamation of local
	governments⁽²⁾ and I have read the recent article "SARM critic merits attention⁽³⁾" by Murray
	Mandryk. In this article, Mandryk refers to the brief submitted by Fred Sutter to the Garcea's
	panel on municipal renewal, and he tosses so many numbers to make your brain spin. All these
	numbers centre on a municipal model that combines nine Rural Municipalities (RMs) and six
	villages in southwest Saskatchewan. Again, the bottom line for describing this municipal model
	is not for creating wealth and healthier communities but for saving money.

just a bunch of statistical numbers spin-doctored	Now we know how the Wellness model worked for health care, it worked so well that the
	government turned health care to a gambling casino⁽⁴⁾. Do we really want another casino in
	Saskatchewan and legislate the new Municipal model of government? Yes, but only yes "IF
	the people directly involved decide that is what they want to do! IF local citizens feel comfortable
	with all forms of government moving further away from them... IF we heard the government had
	been lobbied by our local councillors to force amalgamation of RMs⁽⁵⁾" With this government
	there is no IF, just a bunch of statistical numbers spin-doctored by our consulting experts. This
	is not democracy, this is not building healthier communities, and this is not saving money either
	Honourable Premier Romanow!

----------------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

1. -	A Saskatchewan Vision for Health, The Honourable Louise Simard, Minister of Health, Saskatchewan Health, August 1992

2. -	Replace local government with economic regions: report, CBC Saskatchewan,http://sask.cbc.ca/ Web Posted \| Mar 20 2000 8:46 PM

3. -	SARM critic merits attention, by Murray Mandryk, The StarPhoenix, March 15, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

4. -	Pat Atkinson: raising the finger and turning healthcare to a gambling casino, by Mario deSantis, February 3, 2000

5.	Government Is Putting It's Agenda Forward, by Edwin Wallace, January 29, 2000