saskatchewan | Rockin' On The Right Side

We just returned from a fantastic football weekend in Canada.

Yes, they do play football in Canada, and for football junkies like my son and I, it’s a great excuse for a summer road trip. The Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the BC Lions 23 – 20, and the big play was a missed field goal attempt that was run back 129 yards for a touchdown! Now that’s something you don’t see in the NFL!

Aside from getting our summer football fix, the thing we enjoy most on our northern excursions is our Canuck friends. They always make us feel welcome, show us a good time, and are as curious about our everyday lives as we are about theirs.

I was delighted to learn that the economy is great in Saskatchewan. The mean family income is now $73,000, second among the provinces to Alberta. New shops and restaurants are popping up all over, and business is brisk. New football stadiums are planned around the country, including Regina. The streets are filled with shiny new cars and trucks, and pockets jingle with loonies and toonies (one- and two-dollar coins).

On the other hand, my Canadian friends worry about public services. The health care system is a mess. The average wait time to even see a specialist is now ten weeks, and the six-month wait time after that for routine surgical procedures forces many patients to spend their hard-earned Canadian money at hospitals south of the border. They view their health care as “free” but when pressed, they admit that they don’t always get the best value for their tax dollars. It is a sneak preview of ObamaCare.

For all Saskatchewan’s apparent wealth, we couldn’t help but notice the shabby condition of their highways and other infrastructure. They definitely have some “shovel-ready” jobs. It seems that Canada has the same problem we have in the US – things left up to the free enterprise system seem to work out just fine, but anything filtered through the mud-bog of government slows to a crawl.

One of my Canadian friends was fascinated to learn that I own guns, and usually keep one close by for personal and family protection, thanks to our second amendment and my Montana concealed carry permit. “We can’t even buy a bullet, eh?” he lamented. “Only the bad guys have guns here.”

I didn’t run into any bad guys. Just a bunch of good guys who love their country, Riders Football, and Canadian beer. (PS – no US flags anywhere – no Star Spangled Banner at the game either! See my blog about that)