GOVERNMENTAL COALITION IN SASKATCHEWAN: A PRIVATE CONTRACTUAL DEAL AT THE EXPENSE OF THE ELECTORATE?
By Mario deSantis, October 4, 1999
	Our Premier Romanow has become a skilled magician(1) (2) trying to pull a winning card after the
Roy Romanow was able to reach a coalition agreement	other as his political survival becomes more precarious(3). Last September, the Saskatchewan
	electorate voted in a minority NDP government. However, after secretive backroom talks with the
	Liberal Leader Jim Melenchuk, Roy Romanow was able to reach a coalition agreement and bring
	into the governmental fold the three Liberal MLAs: Jim Melenchuk as Minister of Education,
	Jack Hillson as Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs, and Ron Osika as the
	potential Speaker of the legislature.
	While Romanow described the coalition agreement as one of high principle and high vision(4),
These guys have completely sold out their constituents	most provincial journalists were of the opinion that the agreement was tainted with dishonesty
	and inconsistencies(5). Liberal party president Rod MacDonald said that he was not consulted
	about the coalition deal, and that "...Jim Melenchuk and the others made their decisions strictly
	for personal gain... These guys have completely sold out their constituents, they've completely
	sold out rural Saskatchewan and they've completely sold out the Liberal party... These people
	have, in my judgment, have given the party and the people of Saskatchewan the finger..."(6)
	Equally furious about this coalition deal were former party leader Lynda Haverstock(7),
	Senator Davey Steurt, Senator Herb Sparrow, and most Liberal members across the province(8).
to satisfy the personal greed of our present Liberal and NDP members	The parties to the coalition agreement are the NDP and the Liberal Parties(9). However, the present
	Liberal MLAs have alienated themselves from the party and if the move to toss them out of the party
	is successful in the next Liberal Convention, the coalition agreement could become a private
	contractual agreement to satisfy the personal greed of our present Liberal and NDP members of
	the legislature.
-------------Endnotes:
1. -	Roy Romanow: The Ultimate Electoral Number Game In Education, by Mario deSantis, August 29, 1999. Published in the North Central Internet News
2. -	Premier Romanow's Latest Magics: Shuffling Numbers & Mysterious Bank Account, by Mario deSantis, May 15, 1999. Published in the North Central Internet News
3. -	Premier shows survival skills, SP Opinions, FORUM, The StarPhoenix, October 1, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
4. -	Coalition government: New Demotrats, Liberals form historic alliance, by Murray Mandryk, The StarPhoenix, October 1, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
5. -	Coalition move fuels cynicism, by Mark Wyatt, The StarPhoenix, FORUM, October 1, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
6. -	Party president wants Melenchuk ousted, by Murray Mandryk, The StarPhoenix, September 30, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
7. -	Melenchuk out of his league: Haverstock, By Bonnie Braden, The StarPhoenix, October 1, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
8. -	Party members furious with Melenchuk, by Randy Burton, October 1, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
9. -	Text of the coalition agreement, The StarPhoenix, October 1, 1999 page A7, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan