Honourable Judy Junor: a skewed government and her skewed statistics

Honourable Judy Junor:

a skewed government and her skewed statistics

Nipawin - June 8, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis

mistrust
in these politicians
We have been writing few articles about this government and because of the mistrust in these

politicians⁽¹⁾ we have been labelling Saskatchewan as Phonyland⁽²⁾, a land where politicians

and bureaucrats show their expertise by skewing researches, skewing our universities, skewing

our municipalities, skewing health care, skewing SGI, skewing Workers Compensation, skewing

highways and skewing everything else. In practice, this government is continuing to give the finger

to the people⁽³⁾ and in the process it is serving itself⁽⁴⁾.

Judas Junior
The last skewing comes from Honourable Judy Junor, Associate Minister of Health. The first

time Judy Junor opened her mouth was when she defended her government's back to work

legislation against the nurses. Judy Junor is a former president of the Saskatchewan Union of

Nurses (SUN) and on this occasion the nurses recognized her true colour and labelled her Judas

Junior⁽⁵⁾, Honourable Pat Atkinson being the Minister of Health.

infant
mortality
rate is the highest of
any other province
Today, Honourable Judy Junor has come to know from a new study⁽⁶⁾ that the province's 1997

infant mortality rate is the highest of any other province at 8.9 per 1,000 live births and has stated

"Infant deaths in our province are unacceptably high... The good news is number of infant deaths

decreased by 34% from an average of 175 deaths per year between 1982-86 to 115 from

1992-96... However the rate of decline slowed and this is a cause of concern⁽⁷⁾." I don't want

to digress on Judy Junor's skewed statistics and related wording crap, it suffices to say that in

accordance to a previous study by Richard Plain, Professor at the University of Alberta, our

provincial infant mortality rate has increased from 7.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1992 to

8.5 in 1996⁽⁸⁾.

truth is not found in absolute numbers
We want to teach a lesson to Judy Junor, and we want her to learn this lesson as well, as a

consequence we remind Honourable Judy Junor that the truth is not found in absolute numbers

or things, rather the truth reveals itself in the form of patterns and relationships⁽⁹⁾. Therefore,

we must not emphasize the average of 175 deaths in 1982-86 versus the average of 115 deaths

from 1992-96. What we must care is the fact that the infant mortality rate has been increasing

steadily between 1992 and 1997, that is the most important health indicator is immediately

telling us, without reservations, what we have been saying for a long time: this government has

skewed health care as well as everything else it has touched!

----------References & 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 Ensign

1.
-
Government Mistrust in Saskatchewan: The Continuous Saga, by Mario deSantis and reviewed by James deSantis, June 4, 2000

2.
-
Honourable Janice MacKinnon and her rolling economy in Phonyland, by Mario deSantis, May 8, 2000

3.
-
Governmental coalition in Saskatchewan: A private contractual deal at the expense of the electorate? By Mario deSantis, October 4, 1999

4.
-
Governments must stop serving themselves and their friends, by Mario deSantis, February 13, 2000

5.
-
ROMANOW'S LEGACY: MORTGAGING THE FUTURE OF SASKATCHEWAN By Mario deSantis, April 25, 1999, 7:00 AM

6.
-
WORKING TO REDUCE INFANT DEATHS, Saskatchewan Government, News Release, June 5, 2000, Health - 329 http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/2000/06/05-329.html

7.
-
-
Sask. Devises plan to combat infant mortaliy: province with highest death rate to hire co-ordinator to promote nutrition, prenatal care, by Darren Bernhardt, The StarPhoenix, June 6, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

8.
-
Do we need further specialized researches in Saskatchewan health care? By Mario deSantis, May 20, 1999

9.
The misuse of Statistics as a scientific tool, by Mario deSantis, January 18, 2000

Honourable Judy Junor: a skewed government and her skewed statistics

*Nipawin - June 8, 2000 -* By: *Mario deSantis*

mistrust in these politicians	We have been writing few articles about this government and because of the mistrust in these
	politicians⁽¹⁾ we have been labelling Saskatchewan as Phonyland⁽²⁾, a land where politicians
	and bureaucrats show their expertise by skewing researches, skewing our universities, skewing
	our municipalities, skewing health care, skewing SGI, skewing Workers Compensation, skewing
	highways and skewing everything else. In practice, this government is continuing to give the finger
	to the people⁽³⁾ and in the process it is serving itself⁽⁴⁾.

Judas Junior	The last skewing comes from Honourable Judy Junor, Associate Minister of Health. The first
	time Judy Junor opened her mouth was when she defended her government's back to work
	legislation against the nurses. Judy Junor is a former president of the Saskatchewan Union of
	Nurses (SUN) and on this occasion the nurses recognized her true colour and labelled her Judas
	Junior⁽⁵⁾, Honourable Pat Atkinson being the Minister of Health.

infant mortality rate is the highest of any other province	Today, Honourable Judy Junor has come to know from a new study⁽⁶⁾ that the province's 1997
	infant mortality rate is the highest of any other province at 8.9 per 1,000 live births and has stated
	"Infant deaths in our province are unacceptably high... The good news is number of infant deaths
	decreased by 34% from an average of 175 deaths per year between 1982-86 to 115 from
	1992-96... However the rate of decline slowed and this is a cause of concern⁽⁷⁾." I don't want
	to digress on Judy Junor's skewed statistics and related wording crap, it suffices to say that in
	accordance to a previous study by Richard Plain, Professor at the University of Alberta, our
	provincial infant mortality rate has increased from 7.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1992 to
	8.5 in 1996⁽⁸⁾.

truth is not found in absolute numbers	We want to teach a lesson to Judy Junor, and we want her to learn this lesson as well, as a
	consequence we remind Honourable Judy Junor that the truth is not found in absolute numbers
	or things, rather the truth reveals itself in the form of patterns and relationships⁽⁹⁾. Therefore,
	we must not emphasize the average of 175 deaths in 1982-86 versus the average of 115 deaths
	from 1992-96. What we must care is the fact that the infant mortality rate has been increasing
	steadily between 1992 and 1997, that is the most important health indicator is immediately
	telling us, without reservations, what we have been saying for a long time: this government has
	skewed health care as well as everything else it has touched!

----------References & 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 Ensign

1. -	Government Mistrust in Saskatchewan: The Continuous Saga, by Mario deSantis and reviewed by James deSantis, June 4, 2000

2. -	Honourable Janice MacKinnon and her rolling economy in Phonyland, by Mario deSantis, May 8, 2000

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

4. -	Governments must stop serving themselves and their friends, by Mario deSantis, February 13, 2000

5. -	ROMANOW'S LEGACY: MORTGAGING THE FUTURE OF SASKATCHEWAN By Mario deSantis, April 25, 1999, 7:00 AM

6. -	WORKING TO REDUCE INFANT DEATHS, Saskatchewan Government, News Release, June 5, 2000, Health - 329 http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/2000/06/05-329.html

7. - -	Sask. Devises plan to combat infant mortaliy: province with highest death rate to hire co-ordinator to promote nutrition, prenatal care, by Darren Bernhardt, The StarPhoenix, June 6, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

8. -	Do we need further specialized researches in Saskatchewan health care? By Mario deSantis, May 20, 1999

9.	The misuse of Statistics as a scientific tool, by Mario deSantis, January 18, 2000