Mandryk Opposes TILMA

After a week of public hearings, CanWest’s long-time Saskatchewan political columnist has essentially come out against TILMA. The following lines are from Murray Mandryk’s column in today’s Regina Leader-Post:

The unions and the left have been raising some very valid questions over why Saskatchewan needs to sign on to this trade agreement and what the impact might be if we do. In fact, so solid has been the argument from the labour lobby and others that the Saskatchewan Party might very well have found itself on the wrong side of public opinion.

. . .

Canadian Labour Congress economist Erin Weir may have put it best Tuesday when he told the public hearing that trying to overcome interprovincial trade barriers through an omnibus agreement like TILMA is a little like “going after a fly with a sledgehammer.” It was the fear of a “sledgehammer” approach that turned voters away from the Saskatchewan Party in 2003.

It would be hard to argue that Mandryk was predisposed to endorsing the labour position on TILMA. On the contrary, many used to regard him as being anti-NDP. For the past several years, however, he has been quite even-handed in critiquing both the governing NDP and the opposition Saskatchewan Party.

A shorter version of Mandryk’s column was printed in today’s Saskatoon StarPhoenix.