聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 To the credit of this Saskatchewan Party government, it has generally stayed out of the way of small business.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 For this, it has frequently received the accolades of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) that has lauded efforts to 鈥渃ut red tape.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In fact, one of the few Saskatchewan Party promises during the March election campaign was to 鈥渆liminate regulations that currently prevent home-based food businesses from preparing low-risk foods like cookies, candy, pies and buns in their home and selling them directly to consumers.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 It really wasn鈥檛 much of a campaign promise, but sometimes it is important for government to take care of the littler irritants bothering voters.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 And certainly some of the prohibitions against selling home-cooked products - including past prohibitions on advertising - were viewed by those impacted as unnecessarily restrictive.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 At the very least, it was a testimonial to the Saskatchewan Party鈥檚 commitment to the government getting out of the way and allowing people to earn a living.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The problem, however, is that the need to regulate is a struggle for every government, especially ones that have been in power for some time.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 While one might think time in office affords a government even more confidence in its own decisions, governments often become even more tied to the advice of the bureaucracy. 聽聽聽聽 Similarly, they can be even more vulnerable to prolonged lobbying.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Or at least, this is what Saskatchewan鈥檚 smaller outfitters feel is now happening to them, as the Saskatchewan Party government contemplates changing how outfitters conduct their business.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Elliott Maduck, a small Foam Lake-based outfitter, fears his industry is now fighting a losing battle with those pushing for more regulations.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 According to Maduck, the government and theSaskatchewan Outfitters Association (SOA) are trying to force all outfitters to belong to a mandatory commission, even though the majority of outfitters either oppose the idea or are just not interested in it.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Outfitters already require a mandatory license, Maduck noted, arguing that the initiative seems designed to benefit only the big outfitters (who he says mostly make up the SOA) at the expense of the majority of smaller outfitters.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he days of the mom-and-pop outfitters may be over,鈥� Maduck said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淢aybe this is part of the plan.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Maduck classifies himself as such a small operator, running his outfitting operation on a part-time basis to supplement other income.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As such, he has a smaller number of regular clients for his bear and other hunts. Most of them are blue-collar Americans who appreciate the value-for-money a smaller outfitter can provide.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In fairness to the government, hunting and guiding are a big part of the province鈥檚 tourism industry, and protecting the reputation of that industry is important.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Moreover, a self-regulated industry - as the government seems to now be proposing - is better than having rules foisted upon all outfitters by government.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But Maduck, who has developed his clientele over 22 years through both his website and word-of-mouth, said a bad reputation gets around.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 He added that he doubts the changes are being driven by complaints as much as government and the bigger players in the outfitting business.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Maduck said the OAS has been trying to foist this on the smaller outfitters for 20 years now and, until now, the government has resisted.聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In fact, Maduck said he received an April 2011 letter from Premier Brad Wall, in which the premier stated the Environment Ministry was 鈥渃ommitted to open and ongoing dialogue with its many stakeholders, including the outfitting industry.鈥� The 2011 letter went on to suggest the government would not be proceeding with draft legislation further regulating outfitters.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Something has obviously changed, Maduck noted.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 And he wonders if that change has simply been dictated by a government鈥檚 need to regulate.
