Saskatchewan NDP Caucus

NDP, Roland Crowe, Call for Halt to Crown Land Sales

REGINA - Today, Betty Nippi-Albright, Official Opposition Critic for First Nations and Métis Relations and Truth and Reconciliation, was joined by a delegation of traditional land users led by former FSIN Chief Roland Crowe to call on the provincial government to halt the sale of Crown land. 

“Crown lands belong to all of us, and they’re especially important for First Nations and Métis hunters, gatherers, and traditional land users trying to exercise their Treaty and Inherent rights.” said Nippi-Albright. “The provincial government has been selling off these lands relentlessly for more than a decade, and they need to stop right now or we won’t have anything left.”

Statement by the Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions on International Overdose Awareness Day

Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions, Doyle Vermette, today issued the following statement on International Overdose Awareness Day:

“As we mark International Overdose Awareness Day, I think of the far too many lives that have been lost to an overdose death. Each overdose death is a personal tragedy and my heart goes out to every family that has had to experience the loss of their loved one under such horrific circumstances.

Meili calls for Health Minister to do his job or be removed

SASKATOON - As the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to fill hospitals and claim lives, Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili called on the Premier to either order his Health Minister to listen to the experts and implement urgent measures to protect Saskatchewan people, or remove him from his position.

“Earlier this week the Health Minister made it very clear that he does not think it is his job to fight COVID-19 or protect Saskatchewan families,” said Meili. “It’s time for the Premier to step up to the plate. The Premier was wrong to prematurely declare victory at the beginning of the summer and ignore the risks of the Delta variant. If his Health Minister is not willing to take steps to save lives, he must be removed as minister and replaced with someone who will.”

Saskatchewan NDP calls for urgent measures to protect residents and staff in long-term care facilities

REGINA - Today, Leader of the Official Opposition Ryan Meili, joined by Opposition Critic for Seniors Matt Love called for urgent measures to protect residents and staff in long-term care facilities in the face of several new outbreaks and the advent of the fourth wave of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan.

“The Premier prematurely declared victory against COVID-19 at the start of the summer and has abdicated all responsibility for Saskatchewan’s objectively poor vaccination rates,” said Meili. “The Sask. Party government has been missing in action all summer, led by a Premier who won’t stand up and take on the important issues to families right here in Saskatchewan. Our seniors and our whole province deserve better.”

Sask. Party’s Summer off Leaves Students and School Staff Unsafe; NDP return-to-school plan includes mandatory vaccines for teachers, school staff

REGINA - In light of mounting distress about the upcoming school year and evidence Saskatchewan is entering the fourth wave of the pandemic, Official Opposition Critic for Education Carla Beck today called for mandatory vaccination for school staff and a real plan to keep kids safe. 

Saskatchewan currently leads the country in COVID-19 test positivity rates, has the lowest first and second dose vaccination rates in the nation and has seen a doubling of active cases in just the last two weeks. Meanwhile, the Sask. Party’s current back-to-school plan is to “proceed as during pre-pandemic years.”

Sask. NDP Calls on Sask. Party to reverse cuts to Yorkton Lab Services

YORKTON - Today, Official Opposition Health Critic Vicki Mowat joined with health care workers calling for the microbiology services to be reinstated at the Yorkton Hospital. 

Despite assurances from Yorkton’s Sask. Party MLA that there was no intention of pulling services out of Yorkton and that the situation would ‘soon be rectified,’ employees have learned that the hospital laboratory has been turned into a break room. This is another blow to regional health services in Yorkton in recent years, including a loss of pediatric services in 2019.