To the Editor:

M.L.A. Don Toth’s Report from the Legislature in the October 27 issue of The Citizen tries to make some interesting points.

He questions the need for an increase in Sask Power rates and suggests that it was done so $65 million could be injected into government coffers. That may or may not be a correct assumption, but, at least $65 million was turned back to be used for the benefit of Saskatchewan citizens.

Consider the other option. Weare told that in every case where other provinces have privatized their Power Corporations, rates are higher than ours. And does anyone think that their profits are being returned to the governments concerned? Not a chance!

Most of us remember that the Devine government wanted to privatize Sask Power. How lucky we are that public opposition to that move made them back down!

In the same report our M.L.A. asks “Why is it that N.D.P. ad campaigns always seem to crop up in the months before an election?” We wonder if he has forgotten the blatant and unabashed use of taxpayers money to promote the Devine government’s bid for re-election before the 1981 election? Public funds were used to swamp every newspaper and every news media in the province with an ad campaign that was so partisan that one life-long Conservative friend of mine confided to me his total and complete embarrassment.

Such flagrant misuse of public funds for election purposes has never been seen in this province (maybe the entire country) before or since. May it never happen again.

Fred Easton
Kenosee Lake