Saskatchewan NDP Caucus

Advocates join NDP in calling for universal drug coverage

Today, health professionals joined NDP Leader Ryan Meili in calling on the Sask. Party government to support universal drug coverage for Canadians. The federal government is currently formulating a course of action, but the Sask. Party has not thrown its support behind this important initiative.

“Canada is the only country with universal health insurance that doesn’t have universal drug coverage,” said Meili. “This gap does an incredible amount of damage, especially for lower income households struggling to make ends meet. When people are forced to choose between paying their power bill or buying their medication, that’s not right. So why has Scott Moe so far failed to stand up for universal drug coverage for Saskatchewan?”

NDP and mental health advocates raise concerns around mental health supports

Today at the Legislature, NDP Mental Health Critic Danielle Chartier was joined by 11 individuals who have lived experience with the mental health system to raise concerns around the government not properly staffing Saskatoon’s mental health assessment unit at Royal University Hospital (RUH). There are also questions around the government’s plan to close the unit without providing a clear alternative when the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Adult Emergency Room opens in the fall.

NDP and members of Grenfell and area communities call on government to restore publicly delivered long-term care

More than a dozen people from the communities of Grenfell and Broadview joined the NDP at the Legislature today to call on the government to restore publicly funded, publicly delivered long-term care in Grenfell. This call has been consistently made in the nearly seven months since the long-term care centre in Grenfell was shut down because it was riddled with mold and asbestos.

“The people of this community have been working tirelessly to raise money to get their facility back, but they’ve been left in the dark by the Sask. Party,” said NDP Seniors Critic Danielle Chartier. “They don’t want those jobs that serve the community to go to a private corporation, they want them to remain public.”

Job stagnation the result of Sask. Party choices, says NDP

With Statistics Canada reporting that in the last month, the unemployment rate jumped, the number of people employed in the province decreased, and the number of unemployed people increased, Saskatchewan New Democrats are calling out specific Sask. Party policy choices for hurting job growth. The construction industry alone lost 1,900 jobs month over month.

NDP introduces bill to close lobbying loophole

NDP Leader Ryan Meili introduced a bill today to strengthen the regulations governing lobbying of public officials in Saskatchewan. The NDP bill, which draws directly from the recommendations made by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner & Registrar of Lobbyists in his 2016-17 and 2017-18 reports, would:

Sask. Party housing program flooded saturated market and stands to lose $10 million, NDP says

The government’s Headstart on a Home program, funded by the Saskatchewan Immigrant Investment Fund (SIIF), has been so badly mismanaged by the Sask. Party that it is currently saddled with $10 million in bad debt and has contributed to flooding an already saturated housing market, resulting in plunging housing prices. On Thursday, NDP Crown Investments Corporation Critic Cathy Sproule called on the government to answer for the program’s mismanagement and provide a plan to fix the mess they created.