Hi my name is Neil Fenske and I am the president of the Western Independence Party. First of all I would like to thank all of you for the effort you have put into the Independence cause over these many years, it has been plain to you that our country is not working in a fair manner for the West. For some of you it has probably been decades; for others, like myself, it may only have been a number of years. In the following months and years, as it becomes clear to many other people what we have known all along, let us not tell them "I told you so" too many times. Instead, let’s welcome them on board and help them catch the vision of what a truly Democratic and Independent West could look like. Secondly, I would like to inform you of some of the things that our party will be doing in the next few months in order to spread the Vision.
The first priority is to start setting up constituency associations in the province. In order to do this we will be holding informational meetings in the following months. We need a minimum of 4 people (10 to 15 would be preferable) to sit on each board. These people would help promote the Party in each Constituency and also help us find a quality candidate to represent us in the election. Hopefully we will be able to have some nomination contests that would really help us generate some interest in the party and help whoever gets nominated to have a better chance in the election through the added publicity that comes from such events.


It is painfully clear to us why we need a truly Independent and democratic West but please permit me to tell you one way that I have found useful in explaining it to others. It starts out by asking someone what a modern day Liberal is. Or if you would rather be spared a lot of foul language, you could offer this definition: A Liberal is someone who has no principles and no purpose other than capturing and holding onto power; they will do anything, say anything, or be anything just to get elected. The last Liberal federal government fits this definition to a tee. But who fits this definition provincially. I would argue (and I haven't found anyone that has disagreed yet) that the provincial NDP, who at one time where principled socialists that honestly believed socialism was the answer to the problems of the depression and the best way to help farmers and working people in the province, have become the new liberals. They have enjoyed power for so long that power has become their only goal and the only reason to exist. Democracy and Farmers are no longer important and unions get supported as a means to get re-elected, not out of any real concern for workers.


But what about the federal Conservatives. The Reform party was all about principles and policy, I even remember the national media mocking the delegates at national conventions for spending so much time debating policy instead of partying and having more fun like the other federal Party Conventions. Well the Reform Party got dumped in favor of the Canadian Alliance (CA), a party that had a functioning constitution, principles and polices. Then in a desperate attempt to beat the Liberals the CA morphed into the Conservative Party, a party that, unbelievably, had no constitution, no principles and no polices. They actually fought their first election in this state. I guess power was more important than principles. Funny how that sounds so much like a liberal party.


Coming back to our own province again consider how the Sask. Party started out solely as an attempt to beat the NDP. It wasn’t a principled attempt to change or improve the province it was simply a crass attempt to gain power from the hated NDP. If the Sask. Party wins the next election the game will be won and the only thing that will matter is winning the next one.

Please keep in mind that I am not saying all the people in our present parties are bad. Most of them are decent hard working individuals that deeply care about people’s well-being. However because the present political system is so undemocratic and corrupt they don’t really have a chance to make any real difference. That is why the Western Independence Party must keep a strong focus on principles. This is what will unite us and keep us focused on doing things that are in the best interest of the people and the province.


We need your feedback on what principles are the most important to you. Also, when we are talking to other people about the party let’s keep stressing the two most important principles. First, what do we mean by Independence? I think that some of us in our desire to have a separate nation have forgotten that it was never the goal of WIP to impose this. It has always been our intention to let the people decide this question democratically. By this it cannot be overemphasized that we are fundamentally a democratic party. Our position on separation is no different than any of the other Federal Parties. If a majority of the people in a province want to leave confederation they should be free to do so. It is not a radical position in this Country. We must explain Independence in terms of incrementally gaining more independence from Ottawa in much the same way that Quebec and some other provinces have already done.

Moreover, independence must also mean that our elected representatives must have more independence so that they can actually represent there constituents instead of always doing what their party or leader wants them to do. Achieving a real democracy, that actually works for the benefit of the people, will require some real changes to our system such as how we elect people, referendums and free votes. This will make it possible for all parties in the Legislature to work together. The principle of democracy must be the fundamental principle of the Party.


We have an opportunity to work together with anyone who is not happy with the present way our country and province is governed. The majority of the people in the province will never vote to leave a large, corrupt and undemocratic country like Canada in favor of a smaller, corrupt and undemocratic Country. We can try to tell them about our vision of an Independent West but they won't believe us until they see that we can govern ourselves in a more responsible manner.

Quebecers say they have a distinct culture from the rest of the country so they have a reason to leave. When we prove that we can have a culture of accountability and democracy that works for the peoples benefit instead of the culture of corruption and patronage of a federal government that works for the benefit of the governing party, then I think we will be well on our way to a new nation.


The beauty of this is that we can work together with the Western Nationalists. But we can also work with Federalists that want to see better government. We also have an opportunity to inspire the people of the province with a positive vision, instead of hate and fear of evil socialists that the Sask. Party tries to instil in us, along with the hate and fear of evil conservatives that the NDP tries to sell us. We have an opportunity to rise above the entire left vs. right debate. Does it really matter if we are governed by a left or right wing party if they are always ready to sell us out to whatever special interest group that they need to in order to get re-elected.

We must also realize that events, beyond our control, may make our work now so much more important. For instance, consider how poor our province's bargaining position would be if Quebec would decide to leave. If we continue to be so overly dependent on Ottawa, we will have to take whatever terms are offered to us in the new arrangement. And let’s remember that Ontario will still have more representation than all of the West. I can just hear the National (central Canada) Media saying "It would be best for the national interest if natural resources where owned by the Federal Government."


Also, consider what might happen if Alberta decides to leave confederation. No other province gives so much and receives so little from Ottawa, not to mention the fact of having their provincial debt paid off. Would Alberta even want us to join if there was no previous interest in independence in our province? Would our provincial government even allow us to have a referendum on joining Alberta, or would we be stuck with the east? If we did vote to join Alberta would our only bargaining position be to say "Yes King Ralph?"


The more confidence we have in ourselves as a province, the more it could pay big returns in the future. It’s nice for all the other provincial parties to recite the motherhood statement "That we believe in a strong united Canada" but it is not true and it does nothing to benefit our province. That is why we need to act now so that we have a better alternative for Saskatchewan.


I believe that the people of this province are ready for a real, positive, democratic change and that our party can play a big part in achieving it. All we have to do now is make it happen. In a democracy, the authority to govern comes from the people. What have you done with your authority lately? Contrary to popular opinion I don't think that taking four seconds of our time to vote gives us the right to complain for four years. There is so much more that can be done. Get a membership or renew your membership today, make a donation. Tell other people about the party. Organize a small coffee meeting in your home or a larger public meeting. Find a person that you trust to run for the party nomination in your area (or consider running yourself), then support that person. Make sure you have someone worthy of your vote in the next election and help them to get to Regina to represent you. One person might be able to fix a dictatorship. But one person will never be able to build a real democracy. So I suggest that we all get involved.

Tony Ollenberger originally hails from Alberta, and has lived in Saskatchewan since 2004. In Alberta, Tony was a founding member of the Alberta First Party in 1999, ran as a candidate for the party in 2001, and served as the party's President until moving to Saskatchewan. Travelling across Canada as a truck driver, Tony discovered that Canada is not one country, but four or even five.
"The Federal Liberals ensured that Canada remains a group of regions, the time has come for those regions to assert themselves independently. I’m not convinced that the labels "left", "right", or "centre" can really apply anymore. The cold war is over, let's move on. I often tell people that I would never consider myself "right", but I would say I'm "correct." The problem with Populists, especially from a media standpoint, is that they can't pigeon-hole us into one category. That could be why the media hates people like me. I'm all for a strong, independent Saskatchewan, within or without Canada. By focusing on this interpretation of Independence, we may attract Separatists and Federalists alike.”

The Internet has already profoundly changed the world, barely 30 years since its invention, and less than 15 years after the World Wide Web came into being.  Every major organization and most smaller ones have a website, and we are also live on the net.
Type www.wipsk.com into the address bar of your browser and you will find us, hosted out of North Battleford, at M.R. Internet, and available 24/7 to the entire world. And we are getting hits from all over the planet, Europe, Asia, the US, and of course from all across Canada.

On the site, visitors will find the a printable version of a Petition addressed to the Honourable Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan to ask that the Honourable Assembly may be pleased to institute the preferential ballot (single transferable vote).

The problems with the present first past the post voting system have been evident for quite some time and are only becoming worse as more political parties are formed.