REGINA - Today, Official Opposition Deputy Leader Nicole Sarauer introduced local healthcare workers from Regina, Broadview, and Yorkton calling on the Sask. Party government to address the issue of chronic short-staffing in Saskatchewan healthcare - an issue long before COVID - and develop a comprehensive health staffing strategy to deal with the issue of retention and recruitment.
REGINA - Today, the NDP Official Opposition released two internal memos written by Minister of Education Dustin Duncan showcasing the extent to which the Minister interfered with local municipal health decisions. These memos contradict the public statements made by the Minister and caused immense confusion for school boards trying to work with their local medical health officers to ensure the health and safety of their students and staff.
“These memos show just how far the Minister has been willing to go to interfere in local health decision-making. Common sense and health policy aren’t dictating these decisions, it’s the Minister’s own politics,” said Carla Beck, Opposition Critic for Education. “It is unfathomable that this Minister would direct school boards to ignore local medical health orders, even in cases where schools in active COVID outbreak are hosting an extracurricular event.”
REGINA - Today, Official Opposition Leader Ryan Meili was joined by Carolyn Brost Strom, a public health nurse from Prince Albert to discuss the intense stress and burnout to frontline health workers caused by short-staffing and the Premier’s failures to contain the fourth wave. Brost Strom joined the Sask. NDP in condemning the last-minute decision to no longer allow kids to be vaccinated in schools unless a parent is in attendance which risks reduced vaccine uptake and delays protection to kids now eligible for their vaccines.
REGINA - Today, Official Opposition Leader Ryan Meili was joined by Stephanie Brad, a Saskatchewan mother of four waiting for the rescheduling of a bladder removal operation, to call on the Sask. Party government to take responsibility for their preventable and tragic mishandling of the pandemic’s fourth wave.
The Mid-Year Financial Report released today shows that the Sask. Party’s failure to contain the fourth wave has not only hurt Saskatchewan's people and our health care system but has also hurt the province's public finances and our economy.
SASKATOON - Today, Official Opposition Leader Ryan Meili and Official Opposition Health Critic Vicki Mowat called on the province to expand vaccination leave to parents who need to leave work to take their children to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.