Most prairie dwellers are probably handling the long cold winter as well as can be expected. Handling it well enough does not exclude occasional bouts of temporary 'spring' madness does it?

How is one to make sense of Daylight Saving Time starting on Sunday 09 March? Under George Bush the date was pushed back even more into the back porch of Canadian winters. Canadian businesses wanted to go along with their American counterparts and here we are: pretending we want to take advantage of the long daylight in the evenings when actually it is still so cold that no sane person wishes to venture outdoors voluntarily. I am trying to think of a winter equivalent to Noel Coward’s lyrics "Mad Dogs and Englishmen Go Out in the Noonday Sun." Nothing publishable in a family newspaper comes to mind. If you do come up with a good one, contact John at the editorial pages. DST of course does not apply in Saskatchewan. Not in Arizona either. I lived in the state of Queensland in Australia for many years 'back in the day,' and the good people of that state too were allergic to DST. Even now the Premier, who gets the bulk of his backing from the rural electorates, will have none of it. The same good reasons for opposing DST are heard in all the recalcitrant jurisdictions: 'that extra hour of daylight fades the curtains;' the cows cannot adjust,' etc.

Nevertheless in Saskatoon there are good reasons to anticipate an early spring: for 'spring,' as a local colleague once told me, is the Saskatoon version of a snow street-clearing project. 

While on the subject of madness, will Saskatchewan electors ever oppose the idea of its provincial government getting into commercial businesses with a legislated monopoly? Provincial governments monopolize the purchase of wine, beer and liquor and enforce a bizarre system that treats its electors like juveniles. This is far from the norm elsewhere, where you can shop in the wine aisle at the grocery store, or purchase your favourite tipple at your local sports venue or pub. 

Well since I have been critical of the municipal and the provincial governments, I might as well go on and take issue with all the three Prairie Provinces. They ought to do away with themselves and create ONE BIG PROVINCE. This would have many advantages. The increased concentration of hot air might help with cold winters like this one. With added political clout we might be able to successfully resurrect the notion peddled by a federal politician some years ago, which proposed the annexation of a Caribbean island. Best idea out of Ottawa ever, wouldn't you say?

One Big Province (OBP) would save a lot of money and aggregate resources while lowering taxes. Elections would be a lot simpler. What are the actually good reasons for the existence of each prairie province today? With a bigger province, we could afford our own police force like Quebec and Ontario, and do away with the RCMP which is uncontrollable by our regional governments. Given the new economies of scale, the idea of an adjunct Aboriginal Police Force would finally make sense, with all the bells and whistles and high-cost features of a modern police force. 

What could we name such a blessed regional political entity? OBP would just not have the right cachet would it? Many folks like to hang on to old names. Each set of provincial pollies would argue for its own provincial name to form a slice of the new name. We can test this out: Manalwan, Mansata, Sasmanta, Sasober, Alsaskoba, Alaska? Alkatchman. Look, I am trying here. Do these options not sound at least as good as the actual existing countries of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan? By the way I had to explain to my friend Stan that these places had nothing to do with him.

Next month I shall try to make up for my March Madness and examine an emerging new way of making public policy, focusing upon the health of the population. 

Oh, 'Beware the Ides Of March.'(15th)

Happy St. Patrick's Day. (17th)

If you'd like to reach Paul, you can send him an email.