George Morin likes to point out that northeastern Saskatchewan voters who feel alienated by the Saskatchewan Party and doubtful of the New Democrats always have a third viable option.
Though they have not won a seat in the legislature in 17 years, the Liberals are hoping to mount a comeback in the upcoming election with a candidate in every riding, including Morin, who was recently nominated in Cumberland.
“We’ve been hiding in the woodwork here for a number of years, but I’m going to have to say that we’re going to make, I think, our presence felt this time around,” says Morin, who hails from Sandy Bay and now lives in Prince Albert.
Morin says Premier Brad Wall’s government, in power since 2007, has disappointed Cumberland.
“I hear Mr. Wall calling for a stronger Saskatchewan,” he says. “Well, I think he’s missed the boat in terms of the whole of northeastern Saskatchewan, including Creighton and Denare Beach and surrounding communities. We’re, in my estimation, the most neglected part of Saskatchewan.
“When you consider the options that are available of the current parties, I’d say the Sask Party has a dismal record in terms of being fair to northeastern Saskatchewan, the Cumberland constituency.”
Morin is also unimpressed by the NDP.
“When you consider the NDP, they’ve had opportunities for years and not much has happened,” he says. “As a matter of fact, they’ve pulled back some progress that they did make in the early ’70s when they paid attention to the North, and since that time they’ve ignored the Cumberland constituency.”
Morin cites concerns in the riding such as high unemployment, bad roads and “horrendous” health-care delivery: “You name it, we have every social ill and economic ill that you can think of.”
The aspiring MLA has a long and respected history in the Cumberland constituency. Born and raised in Sandy Bay, he spent his younger years as a trapper, angler and hunter.
Morin later worked in human resource management, and economic and community development. Now semi-retired, he regularly travels back and forth between Prince Albert and Sandy Bay as a consultant for Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation.
He also does some work for the village office in Sandy Bay, and is an aboriginal advisor to Crown Corporations Saskatchewan.
Morin is particularly proud of the work he did as a community development worker in Sandy Bay in the 1970s.
That’s when he was part of a team that established an alcohol treatment centre in Sandy Bay, the first such facility in northeastern Saskatchewan.
At the time, Morin says, 80 per cent of the people in Sandy Bay had addictions problems. He says the solution came after agreement was reached that sobriety was the first step in improving the lives of residents.
Addictions are one widespread concern on northern Saskatchewan First Nations. Another is suicide, with Morin part of an effort that successfully reduced the number of people taking their own lives in Sandy Bay.
Today, he says, there is an emerging problem of violence in some northeastern Saskatchewan communities, be it domestic violence, community violence or elder abuse.
Morin believes those problems can also be successfully addressed. As with addictions and suicides, “the answer lies in those communities,” he says.
Morin was drawn to the Liberal Party in the 1960s when then-federal leader Pierre Trudeau famously called for a “just society.”
“That caught my attention,” he recalls.
In the 2015 federal election, Morin campaigned for the Liberals and found new leader and eventual prime minister Justin Trudeau, Pierre’s son, to be open-minded, genuine and someone who “really cares for people.”
Now, in his bid to become MLA, Morin is turning to a quote from the younger Trudeau.
“To repeat what the prime minister said in his campaign, ‘Better is always possible,’” he says.
Saskatchewan voters head to the polls on April 4. The deadline for candidates to file their nomination papers is this Saturday, March 19.
Visit The Reminder's SK ELECTION page for ongoing coverage of the Cumberland constituency, including web-exclusive content.
