Moe gov says no cost-of-living relief because “there’s lots of demands on the budget”
REGINA - Today marks one year since Moe’s Minister of Health said his $138 million healthcare payroll system should soon be back online after its botched and buggy rollout. It still has yet to be fixed and the Official Opposition grilled the Sask. Party for funneling tens of millions into the over-budget project and for still having no idea when it will come online.
“Our hospitals are in crisis, hardworking families are struggling just to pay their power bills, and the Moe government is blowing tens of millions of dollars on faulty IT software that doesn’t even work,” said Official Opposition Leader Carla Beck. “How much more money are the people of Saskatchewan footing for this fiasco? This government needs to start focusing on the issues that matter, not on their pet projects.”
The Sask. Party government’s disastrous rollout of the Administrative Information Management System (AIMS) threw the healthcare system into chaos last November just days after it was rolled out. Minister Merriman stated then that the multi-million dollar program would be up and running in “the near future,” but a year has now passed since it was put on ice.
Moe’s Finance Minister recently stated that no cost-of-living relief is being provided to cash-strapped Saskatchewan families because “there’s lots of demands on the budget”.
“We’re competing with other provinces to hire and retain healthcare workers. It’s not a good look when the first thing you read about Saskatchewan hospitals is that you might not get paid on time,” said Health Critic Vicki Mowat.
AIMS follows a pattern of multi-million-dollar cost overruns on Sask. Party IT contracts. In 2009, the Sask. Party announced they’d be introducing Linkin to “help ministry staff respond to the needs of children and youth in care.” Originally projected to cost $15 million, the program ballooned to $75.9 million as of March 2022.
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