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Weir honoured for long service to Perdue. See Page 16
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Block back to Parliament Hill by Kevin Brautigam of The Independent
This time it will be four years before another election, as a Conservative majority will go to Ottawa, Saskatoon-RosetownBiggar MP Kelly Block amongst them. Block defeated New Democrat Nettie Wiebe in another close battle. In 2008, Block edged Wiebe by 262 votes. Last Monday, she increased the margin by nearly 800. Lee Reaney of the Liberals came in third with 685, while Vicki Strelioff of the Green Party, 610. Block was one of 13 Tories elected in Saskatchewan (Ralph Goodale for the Liberals represents the 14th seat). Block, and the other Tories, as well as Goodale, were all re-elected to their seats, continuing the trend from 2008. “There were some anxious moments,” a relieved Block described, releasing a tired chuckle last Wednesday. “We didn’t take anything for granted. But you know, we had a huge team, highly dedicated, who worked hard over the five weeks, and they worked hard to get the result that we got on Monday night.” There will be little time to savour the election win.
Block is expecting MP’s will be called to the Hill at the end of May. “One of the first orders of business will be to pass a budget and work to complete the economic recovery,” she explained. “There are a number of Justice Bills that we will reintroduce in the first 100 days.” The budget will, in all likelihood, be close to the budget that was introduced hours before Canadians learned they were going to the polls. Of course, there may very well be adaptations and modifications. “It’s what we campaigned on. A number of the measures that were in the next phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan were part of our platform. So I think you are going to see that budget pretty much be reintroduced,” Block said. “There may be some minor revisions.” Now with a majority on Parliament Hill (Conservatives 166, NDP 104, Liberal 34, Bloc 3, Green 1), Block says Canadians have given them the nod to continue on with the nation’s recovery in trying economic times. It is also a vote of confidence and sign that people were tired of elections, wanting more
stability from Ottawa. “Certainly whether I was door knocking in the rural area of the riding or in the City of Saskatoon, what I heard was that we were doing a good job, our economic action plan was working, and that people felt we needed a Conservative majority, led by Stephen Harper, to get the job done,” Block noted. “They had seen the budget that we introduced, so I assumed that they expect us to continue on the path that we were on. “People were frustrated, they felt it was a very unnecessary election.” She admits to being excited at the prospect of going back to Parliament Hill. “We started campaigning after the last election, and we knew that we needed to prove to the constituents in Saskatoon-RosetownBiggar that they’d made the right choice, and I really am humbled and honoured to have the opportunity to serve the constituents for the next four years.” But it has been a long, tiring process. “We took down the campaign office yesterday [May 3], we had to get that done, [and later] I attended a grand opening of a tea room in Delisle, and I was at my office this morning. So I think I’m going to take tomorrow off!” she joked.
Thank-you Mom! . . . Two very special ladies, Lorraine Falcon, right, and Ethel May Berezowski, were honoured last Tuesday during the annual Mother of the Year Tea at the Biggar Community Hall. The pair were treated to an afternoon of entertainment, raffles, door prizes, bake table, delicious food, all to benefit Biggar Community Connections. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
These little piggy’s . . . St. Gabriel School’s Kadein Guan, left, and Jacob Evanisky rehearse their roles in their play “The Three Piggy Opera”. The dessert theatre ran this past Wednesday. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
Children-in-Care suffer higher incidents of fatalities and critical injuries under the Wall gov’t: NDP Following the release of the 2010 Annual Report for the Children’s Advocate Office, NDP Social Services critic David Forbes criticized the Wall government for failing to protect childrenin-care. Forbes said, May 4, that Social Services Minister June Draude has done little to address the disturbing upswing in the number of Saskatchewan children injured under the care of the Ministry, with fatalities and critical injuries being reported to the Children’s Advocate Office at an alarming rate. “The Children’s Advocate Report highlighted disturbing trends within the Ministry of Social
Services,” said Forbes. “Children, who are receiving direct care of the Ministry or indirect care, are simply not receiving the level of protection that one would expect from the government.” Forbes noted that from 2008 to 2010, the number of critically injured children reported to the Children’s Advocate Office last year jumped by more than 300 per cent, from 13 to 43. “Many of these children come from abusive situations and have been removed from their homes with the expectation that the Ministry of Social Services would provide the protection and care they so desperately need, but this
has not been the case,” said Forbes. “In addition to the sudden increase in critical injuries, the number of deaths has increased to 34 children in 2010.” The Children’s Advocate report also identified the rapid growth in the number of group homes in the past two years as a concern, said Forbes. “The onus is on the Wall government to take significant steps to help the Children’s Advocate protect Saskatchewan children so that injuries and deaths can and will be prevented,” said Forbes. “I urge the Minister to immediately address the concerns raised in Children’s Advocate report without delay.”