Saskatchewan Day

I hope you are enjoying your Saskatchewan Day long week-end.  Most of us enjoy the extra day off at the beginning of August without really thinking about what it means to live in Saskatchewan and how fortunate we are.

While this summer has been tumultuous with sudden and heavy rainfall and an unprecedented number of tornadoes, we should remember how privileged we are that this is the exception and not our usual weather.  Our neighbors to the south face tornadoes every year.  We see them only a few times in our lifetime.   They are terrifying, to say the least, and I am very happy that we do not have to count on suffering the destruction and terror of these violent storms each and every year.

Along with summer, we have four very distinct seasons.  Most of us take these changes for granted.  There is a beauty in each season which people in non-changing climates never get to experience.  We have the opportunity to enjoy all types of sports and activities which change with each season.  I know of a woman who was born and raised in Hawaii and now lives here.  She absolutely refuses to visit her family during the winter because she loves the snow and doesn’t want to miss a minute of it.  She is always telling people we don’t realize how wonderful it is to have the different seasons.   Having grown up where the temperature is constant all year, she savours each change she experiences here as the seasons change.

Many of us who live here are descendents of people who have been in this province for generations, and we know how hard they worked to give us the life we now enjoy.  Many families around Prince Albert have received one-hundred year recognition for their family farms.  Farming has changed a great deal, but in this province, many farms stay in the same family generation after generation.
This summer, we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of medicare.  Many of us grew up under this plan and tend to take it for granted.  This year, there has been much attention on the struggles of T. C. Douglas and those who believed, fifty years ago, that everyone should have access to medical help without financial hardship.  It is hard to believe that anyone could ever have been against this ideal.  Today, Canadians demand its protection and consider it one of Canada’s greatest accomplishments.  The fact that medicare started right here in Saskatchewan is a testament to the sense of community and sharing that has made this province so great. 

Our winters may be too cold, our summers to short, and we may not be as sophisticated as some might wish us to be, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!  Happy Saskatchewan Day.  Taking time to remember what it is about Saskatchewan we love the most . . . it’s a good thing!