In the month-and-a-half since the Sask. Party broke their promise and scrapped the STC, people across the province – including seniors - are finding themselves stranded without transportation and relying on hitchhiking as a last resort.
“STC was a vital service to so many across the province, and many are telling me that the Sask. Party’s decision to scrap and sell-off STC has left them stranded, isolated, and with no other options,” said NDP STC Critic Doyle Vermette. “The Sask. Party was warned about the consequences of shutting down and chopping-up STC but they just don’t care who is hurt by their mismanagement, scandal and waste.”
Leonard Finlayson is 68 years old, lives in Prince Albert, and used to rely on STC to see his family and grandchildren in La Ronge. Since the Sask. Party scrapped STC, Mr. Finlayson has already been forced to hitchhike several times in order to visit his family and has had to rely on additional government funding for rides to medical appointments in Saskatoon.
“Since the Sask. Party shut down STC, I have been forced to rely on hitchhiking,” Finlayson said. “I used to use STC to visit my family and get me to my medical appointments, but now, getting around in the north has become very difficult for me. People up here are feeling even more isolated than before.”
“Yes there was a cost to providing this important service. But there’s also a big cost to not providing it,” said Vermette. “We were among many who warned that Sask. Party that people would be hurt if they scrapped STC and we’re already seeing the very real consequences. Either they didn’t believe things would get this bad or they just didn’t care.”
Poor working conditions, favouritism, $300K travel nurse pay at issue
REGINA - Today, the Official Opposition released a letter signed by 49 emergency room nurses in Saskatoon. The letter slams the Sask. Party government for failing to support Saskatchewan nurses and curb the province’s reliance on expensive out-of-province travel nurses.
REGINA - Today, Official Opposition Critic for First Nations and Métis Relations Betty Nippi-Albright hosted a Day of Action with Indigenous leaders from Nekaneet First Nation, Yellow Quill First Nation, Waterhen Lake First Nation, Onion Lake Cree Nation, Carry The Kettle First Nation, Key First Nation and the residential school support team from Yorkton Tribal Council. Together, they continue to draw attention to the Sask. Party government’s disregard for the Duty to Consult process.
MOOSE JAW - Today, the Official Opposition stood with Taylor Enns, president of the Moose Jaw Firefighters Association, and Brayden Dutchak, the son of a cancer survivor. Together, they called on the Sask. Party government to reopen Saskatchewan’s only hyperbaric chamber.
Records show former Sask. Party Finance Minister lobbied for Calgary surgery scheme on behalf of a major Sask. Party donor
REGINA - Today, the Official Opposition grilled the Premier and his Minister of Health after the Minister misled the public, claiming that he had not been lobbied by a former Sask. Party MLA when Saskatchewan's official lobbyist logs show the exact opposite.