AS PICTURES OF WEAPONS SEIZED IN HOSPITALS EMERGED, MOE GOVERNMENT IMPOSED GAG ORDER ON WORKERS RATHER THAN ADDRESSING MAJOR SAFETY CONCERNS

Leaked Memo Shows Staff Blocked From Documenting Dangerous Weapons
SASKATOON – Carla Beck’s team is calling on Scott Moe to immediately scrap a directive that muzzles frontline hospital staff from documenting weapons seizures, following a leaked memo that exposes how far authorities will go to control the story around safety in Saskatchewan hospitals.

The memo, dated February 9 and sent to Saskatchewan Health Authority security staff, instructs them not to photograph confiscated weapons without written approval from management. The gag order was issued at a time when weapons were being seized in hospitals across the province, and the directive raises serious questions about why the focus is on shutting down cameras rather than addressing the real risk.

“The only thing this directive protects is Scott Moe and his government from accountability for what’s happening in our hospitals,” said Nathaniel Teed, Shadow Minister for Labour.

“This tells you everything you need to know about Scott Moe and the Sask. Party — they’re more focused on covering up the chaos in hospitals and silencing the voices of workers than fixing healthcare.

The order came after Beck’s team began releasing images showing the scale and seriousness of weapons being intercepted at hospital entrances in Saskatoon — images the Moe government’s health authority now appears determined to keep out of public view. The pictures show tables filled with knives of varying sizes, machetes, homemade shivs, pickaxes and multiple saws — all of these dangerous weapons were seized at St. Paul’s Hospital and Royal University Hospital.

“Good decisions depend on good information,” said Nathaniel Teed. “When safety takes a backseat to politics, people can get hurt. No more gag orders, no more snitch lines — what we need is a real, concerted effort to listen to workers, to act on the solutions they are bringing forward."

“That’s exactly what Carla Beck’s team will do. It’s time for change.”

The memo comes as the Sask. Party government plans to privatize hospital security in multiple communities across the province, a move that risks weakening accountability and limiting transparency around how safety incidents are managed.

Carla Beck’s team is continuing to consult through the summer on its plan for big, bold change in healthcare. Saskatchewan people can have their say at YourCareYourSay.ca.

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