Saskatchewan versus Alberta: The Long-Blog Version

Belinda, at what seems like the last moment, finally listed her Saskatoon visit on her official itinerary. Maybe she listens to John Gormley's show (or reads this blog!). All I have to say is that "better late than never" rarely works as an effective political strategy (unless you're Ralph, and you have a new idea for a pre-election utilities rebate). Anyway, welcome to Saskatoon, Belinda! You're lucky to be here on my favourite kind of wintery day -- crisp, cold, and brilliantly sunny! When I was a kid, I would have run outside on a day like this and just kicked around in the snow until my cheeks were so red and my hair-ends were so frozen that I had to go back in the house.

Today, I was doing more adult activities. As I so often do, I was listening to John Gormley's news-talk radio program this morning on 650 CKOM. He brought up a very interesting issue for discussion, which went something like, did you move from Alberta to Saskatchewan, and was it worth it? Most callers had grown up in Saskatchewan, moved to Alberta, and then moved back; however, some were born in Alberta and later moved here. I'm part of that second group.

I was born in Alberta, where I was exposed to a steady stream of education about the importance of civil liberties, economic opportunity and entrepreneurship. My adult consciousness started to develop during the Lougheed years, through the big boom periods of growth, when people were moving to Alberta faster than snow melting off Sunshine ski resort in late spring, or so it seemed.

One vivid Alberta memory was the experience of being present, in the room, when Premier Getty announced for the first time that the Conservative Party Closed Session Q & A with the premier was going to be open to the media -- transparency and open process won the day, and the Alberta people have benefited from this ever since. Of course, no political system is or can be completely transparent, but a greater libertarian feeling exists in Alberta than in other places I have lived. Despite entrepreneurial spirit and libertarian leanings, community cooperation and grassroots values remain important in Alberta, but not "groupthink" (See the Wikipedia definition.).

So, when John Gormley announced the topic for discussion on his show, I was itching to call in. The problem was that I had so much to say, that I couldn't possibly have said what I wanted to in the span of a minute or so. Instead, I decided to write this blog entry. I thought a lot about not writing the blog entry, once I had the idea, because Canada is a socially small place and Saskatchewan is even smaller in terms of social cliques. I decided to write the blog entry anyway, probably to my own social detriment. This blog entry is going to be unusually long . . . I guess I have a lot to say on the topic.

When we (my family and I) first considered moving to Saskatchewan, every fibre of my being screamed out "NO!" Growing up in Alberta, I had heard enough Saskatchewan jokes and derision to innoculate me against any desire to move here. I wanted to attend graduate school at the U of S because I liked the look of a program, but Saskatchewan? Come on. However, I also remembered that one of my very best friends at the University of Alberta was a young woman from Estevan, who had nothing but good things to say about her home province. Recognizing the training opportunity that was available to me at the U of S, we packed up and moved with our very young child to Saskatoon. In a nutshell, we stayed here until I had to leave the province to complete an internship (in Calgary), and we returned later to Saskatoon.

Honestly, after moving to Saskatoon the first time, I fell in love with the both city and the province. Many amenities won me over, and we settled into a good family life. I was sad when we moved to Calgary ("Saskatchewan's biggest city," as one John Gormley caller described it, given the high number of people from Saskatchewan living there), because I missed friends we had made and the Saskatchewan lifestyle we had come to appreciate.

Calgary, on the other hand, had comparatively more traffic, pollution and overly rapid population growth, but not as bad as you might see in Chicago or New York City. Calgary had its amenities too -- not the least of which were our permanent jobs, as well as new-found friends, proximity to the mountains, tons of entertainment, a truly wondrous recreational facility that we loved, as well as some family. By the way, most recreational facilities in Calgary are privately operated, which was not a bad thing.

One of my relatives, an MLA, was notably surprised when we decided to move back to Saskatoon. Another relative, a genuine Calgary booster, was mortified and tried to talk us out of coming back. However, a long-term, attractive job opportunity was offered to me in Saskatoon, so we returned to Saskatchewan (don't I have an understanding spouse?). Since then, that job opportunity evaporated before my eyes, much to my own horror and surprise, but I can't really talk about those details in public just yet.

Anyway, listening to the callers on the John Gormley show, I found myself ticking off in my head pros and cons in answer to his question about whether coming back to Saskatchewan was worth it. Here's my analysis (not in any particular order) based on my own, personal experiences:

Top-Ten Pros About Living in Saskatchewan as Compared with Alberta:

1. Clean air (as compared with Calgary); Edmonton has very nice air.

2. A strong tradition of community-based services and agencies.

3. Good children's sporting leagues and training.

4. A reasonable cost of living. Calgary's is worse than Edmonton's.

5. Decent water -- did you ever really taste Calgary's? Edmonton's is better and similar to Saskatoon's.

6. Reduced driving time to and from work, and pretty much everywhere else too. In Calgary, we sometimes had to drive over an hour to little-league softball games, and then another hour back home! Edmonton's not much better.

7. Wonderful summers and great gardening (try growing tomatoes in Calgary, where the nights become really chilly). Edmonton has good gardening too.

8. The cost of housing is better here than in Calgary or Edmonton.

9. Excellent fishing and a lot of lakes within reasonable proximity to the major cities, as compared with Alberta.

10. My clinical practice on Broadway which I have now opened.

Top-Ten Cons About Living in Saskatchewan as Compared with Alberta:

1. Parents here have considerably less power and voice in the school system as compared with our experiences in Alberta, and a lot of the school textbooks seem very old, even out of date.

2. The university is not as well resourced in terms of facilities, the library, the study of languages, and faculty numbers, in my opinion, as some in Alberta, although Saskatchewan does have some strong programs such as in the areas of Music, Veterinary Medicine and the Canadian Light Source synchrotron (I'm sure there are other strong programs, too). In addition, some departments have faculty retention problems, causing program set-backs and requiring repeated recruitment of new faculty.

3. Taxes (gasoline, property, provincial sales tax, liquor, provincial income tax) plus service fees. *shudder*

4. A general sense, as one John Gormley caller said, that "a multitude of opportunity is being wasted," which speaks to a low level of entrepreneurial spirit as compared with other places I have lived. Don't get me wrong -- entrepreneurs do exist in the province, for example, in the company where my husband works, which really is second-to-none in its field and has been responsible for attracting a number of highly qualified workers and their families to this province. However, the province needs much more of this entrepreneurial spirit, as well as some drive on the part of government to make Saskatchewan a more attractive place to do business. Tell me, for example, why Southern Alberta has a McCain's processing plant, and we don't?

5. Lack of available jobs in many fields, coupled with lower pay and employers' propensity to hire part-time, casual staff.

6. Entertainment and shopping problems: No IMAX theater, science centre, or natural/geological museum in Saskatoon! Not enough coffee shops, too many "family style" restaurants, and second-run marketing lines for clothing and household goods. No IKEA.

7. Health care/waiting list/staffing concerns -- this is a *major* worry.

8. The slow realization that, if you see something in the store you really want (especially during high-shopping seasons), you'd better buy it now because someone else will, and the stock probably won't be replenished any time soon.

9. Competition between crown corporations and small business in some key areas such as telecommunications/IT (e.g., television, internet service provision, web-based marketing, *alarm installation and monitoring*), making it difficult for private companies to compete.

10. Finally, and this is a big one, cliques and nepotism, which both have had a major impact on my ability to work and stay in this province. As John Gormley said, Saskatchewan's sub-motto seems to be "fear, loathing, and envy," and, let me tell you, I have to agree.

In Saskatchewan, we would do well as a small population of people to encourage each other in opportunities and successes rather than in blocking each other's way. We could start by acknowledging and recognizing talent already existing in the province and attempting to keep those people here. Nothing speaks better for a province than the ability and willingness of people born there to stay, build their homes and raise their families. We also need to attract new people, which means that we are going to have to respect people of differing political opinions. Face it, not everyone who comes here will be a social democrat, and you will have to tolerate them. They might even have some good ideas.

I have heard a considerable number of people claim that folks in Saskatchewan will go out of their way to help you out if you're stranded or in need of assistance. That's a great community attitude. However, what's especially good about folks in places like Calgary and Edmonton is that people who don't go out of their way to help you usually won't go out of their way to hurt you either. Saskatchewan people might need to think a little more about that. For our family, staying here is now only about jobs and making a good living. If we can manage to do that, we'll remain in Saskatoon, but if that becomes threatened any further, then it's sayonara Saskatchewan.