As we pass the midpoint in the federal election campaign, it’s hard to find any local issues. It’s all about a basketful of scandals, dual citizenship or the NDP faltering.
The challenge of a federal campaign is that it always centres around the personalities of the leaders and their personal conduct rather than issues hitting us on the ground. Where is the plan for reopening canola markets? Why isn’t someone talking about reductions in air service to this province’s major cities?
That last one is something that affects a wide cross section of our market. We are dominated by exports making access to markets critical yet that access is constricted and not one federal political candidate has raised it.
Perhaps it is time for us to rethink a concept called cabotage, a federal policy preventing foreign airlines from moving people around within this country. If Canadian airlines don’t want to serve the international needs of major cities like Saskatoon and Regina we could fight for a US carrier to do it. An election is a great time for that debate.
