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Sometimes when working in government relations you cannot help but to think that you are living the same life as weatherman Phil Conners, played expertly by actor Bill Murray in the 1993 movie Groundhog Day.
The 2018 Saskatchewan spring legislative session wrapped up this past week with a sense of déjà vu. Even though there are two new key players at the helm of the two political parties conducting business in the Legislature, not too much has changed.
Last year, the government was taken to task over unpopular budget decisions, perceived misdeeds by a former M.L.A., accusations of overspending on a major infrastructure project and the ongoing and never-ending talk of scandal associated with the Global Transportation Hub.
Fast forward to this year’s session. The dominant discussions were about unpopular budget decisions, perceived misdeeds by a former M.L.A., accusations of overspending on a major infrastructure project and the ongoing, never-ending talk of scandal associated with the Global Transportation Hub. Wait, where did I see this before?
In the field of government relations it is our responsibility to keep our clients informed of what is happening in the province both politically and legislatively. Legislatively, there were some issues that moved forward, such as a Ride Share Act to allow companies like Uber and Lyft to operate in Saskatchewan. As well, there was the repeal of Bill 40 on the partial privatization of Crown Corporations. However, politically from a government relations point of view, the issues from last year could have easily been pulled from the recycling bin.
Perhaps the 2018 fall legislative session will produce different results as the two newly minted leaders adjust to their roles. Or Saskatchewan’s Punxsutawney Phil, a gopher, of course, may poke his head out of his hole on the Legislature’s front lawn, see his shadow and decide that we will have six more weeks of the same thing.
