Saskatchewan NDP Caucus

NDP Leader to call for province to make non-medical masks available to the general public

With Canada’s Chief Medical Health Officer confirming today that wearing a cloth mask is an “additional measure that you can take to protect others around you in situations where physical distancing is difficult to maintain,” NDP Leader Ryan Meili is calling on the Saskatchewan government to facilitate the production of non-medical masks for distribution to the public.

“While medical grade masks must be reserved for frontline healthcare workers, Saskatchewan people can do their part in limiting the spread of COVID-19 by wearing simple cloth masks when they need to be out in public,” Meili said. 

Meili encourages wearing of cloth masks to further slow the spread of COVID-19

With a public health consensus quickly emerging that wearing a cloth mask can slow the spread of COVID-19, NDP Leader Ryan Meili is encouraging Saskatchewan people to begin wearing cloth masks in public, while continuing to stay home as much as possible and practice physical distancing.

“Saskatchewan people are staying home as much as they can. But every day, essential workers are going to work. Every day thousands of people are going to pharmacies, grocery stores, medical appointments, their jobs. Because they have to. Which is why we have to use every measure available to protect people,” said Meili.

NDP calls for supports and protections for First Nations

The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the Saskatchewan government to step up with urgent supports and protections for First Nations and Métis people who are at significant risk from the spread of COVID-19.

“First Nations and Métis leaders are doing all they can to prepare their communities for the arrival of COVID-19, but the response from the province so far has been slow and limited,” said NDP Leader and First Nations and Métis Relations Critic Ryan Meili. “We know these communities are at higher risk, with crowded housing, elevated levels of poverty and higher rates of illness.”

NDP renews call for small business support measures

Today the Saskatchewan NDP called on the provincial government to address an unprecedented cash-flow crunch facing Saskatchewan small businesses. The NDP called for emergency grants for small businesses, a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, and measures to support deferral or forgiveness of payments on business leases, loans and contracts.

“Small businesses are crucial to our economic well-being, and right now, they need our support,” said NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon. “We’re calling on the province to step up with emergency aid for local businesses facing devastated cash flows.”

NDP calls for closure of childcare centres, support for the sector

With news of two Regina childcare centres temporarily closing their doors due to a family member of a child at one of the centres being tested for COVID-19, NDP Leader Ryan Meili and Education and Childcare Critic Carla Beck called today for the closure of all childcare centres in the province, and for clarity and support for parents and operators. The closure of only those childcare centres attached to schools has caused confusion across the sector.

“Parents and childcare operators are worried about how best to protect kids and families who are accessing child care,” said Meili. “To slow the spread of COVID-19, we need to close all childcare centres, not just those attached to schools, and we need childcare solutions for essential workers that don’t involve grouping those workers’ kids together in significant numbers.”

Statement from NDP Leader Ryan Meili on social services announcement

NDP Leader Ryan Meili issued the following statement in response to the province’s release of a social services pandemic response:

An emergency demands an emergency response. Other provinces acted much more quickly and much more substantially, including Alberta, which committed $30 million over a week ago to support shelters and frontline organizations.