Only the current government of Saskatchewan could make a bitter, angry school tax rally more bitter and angry.

A few hundred souls braved rain and wind and postponed their seeding to show up at the legislature to protest punishing school taxes. Premier Calvert chose not to address the crowd, choosing instead to send Government Relations Minister Len Taylor into the bear pit.

In what was an almost surreal speech, Taylor confirmed that most people in the audience don't believe Premier Calvert when he says he's committed to address the school tax problem. When that obvious-as-the-nose-on-your-face statement was made, Taylor was met with laughter and a spattering of heckles. He then chastised the audience for their lack of decorum and threatened that if such behaviour continued the premier would no longer talk about school tax reform.

Nice move, Len.

These guys just don't get it. Saskatchewan has the highest school taxes in Canada. Farmers, who in recent years have experienced net losses, are disproportionately burdened with the cost of education. And they're mad as hell that Premier Calvert didn't follow through with his promise to address the problem.

Representatives of the cities must join the fight for school tax relief. Urban residents endure one of the highest property tax burdens in Canada, and half of that massive bill goes to schools - not to roads, sewers and police. It's inexplicable that representatives of the cities refuse to decisively take up this cause.

Government flouts freedom of information legislation
Twice in the last week the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has been denied access to important government documents. First off, the Department of Learning is refusing to justify a $6 million dollar office move to downtown Regina.

The government confirmed that $6 million was spent, but refused to provide any documentation justifying the move. Instead they provided a single-page briefing note with speaking notes confirming that the very offices Learning was moving in to were previously rejected by SaskEnergy because the were deemed "too expensive."

What we have here is an unjustifiable $6 million expenditure at a time when the government is raising taxes and closing hospital beds. The government knows that, and that's why they won't provide any information.

The CTF also submitted a request for all government documents relating to the economic impact of increasing the PST. One would think that when the government increased the PST they did some economic forecasting to find out what would happen to the economy as a result of sucking more money out of it.

The government refused to disclose their analysis on the grounds that it is considered advice to cabinet. That's right - you own the government, your money pays bureaucrat salaries, but this government says you don't have the right to see the work they did when they decided to raise your taxes (assuming they did any).

If the government knew before the budget - or knows today - how the PST hike will effect the people of saskatchewan, it has a moral obligation to make this information public.

So much for Premier Calvert's commitment to a more open and accountable government.