MAY 9, 2007

       “Bring the Jets back!”  Did I hear that right?  Politicians are using this as a promise for an election campaign?

       It leads me to two questions – one for the candidates and one for the voters.  Candidates: do you really think having a professional sports team in the province is more important than having good education and health care?  And voters: is having an NHL team more important than having educated children or a hospital room for a sick family member?

       Election campaigns are all about winning the vote.  You do what ya gotta do, right?  People in Winnipeg have been whining about getting the Jets back even though higher-ups in the NHL say it probably won’t happen.  But those hearty hockey fans still hold out hope.  And in all honesty, would the premier of a province have the power to change the NHL?

       When I think of the major political issues people in Manitoba complain about, it certainly doesn’t include professional sports teams with overpaid athletes but rather the underdogs who need social assistance.  Instead of teams that have sports therapists and a designated team of doctors they get to see immediately, how about the people who have to wait weeks to see an overworked medical expert?

       I thought political campaigns are all about doing what’s best for communities and making the town, province or country a better place in which to live.  Can anyone in Emerson, Dauphin or Churchill honestly tell me that they think Manitoba will be a better place because the Winnipeg Jets are back in the big city?

       This whole thing makes me wonder if political leaders in this province are actually looking out for the best interest of everybody (including rural communities) or just the large centres with a high voter turnout on election day.