Saskatchewan NDP Caucus

NDP urges government to prioritize substitute recruitment and retention for the sake of keeping schools safely open

NDP Education Critic Carla Beck, joined by substitute Educational Assistant Penny Van Buekenhout, is calling on the Saskatchewan government to act quickly to prioritize substitute recruitment and retention by providing funding for cohorting, contracts and sick pay. Education Minister Gord Wyant indicated last week that his government rejected division requests for funding for substitutes as not a priority, just like funding for supplies like “yoga mats and pencil cases.” 

“By sticking us with the worst school reopening plan in Canada, this government has left substitute teachers and substitute EAs vulnerable and exposed, with no guaranteed sick leave and no protection as they prepare to interact with potentially hundreds of kids in a week,” said Beck. “To hear the Minister say last week that funding for substitutes is as unimportant to him as yoga mats and pencil cases shows he’s learned absolutely nothing. The federal government has made funding available; now the province needs to put it to use ensuring we have enough substitute teachers in place at each school, and that those educators have access to sick leave.”

NDP pushes for transparency and accountability in the face of school-repair stonewalling

In response to the Minister of Education’s continued refusal to release a breakdown of the cost of fixing Saskatchewan’s crumbling schools, NDP Education Critic Carla Beck wrote to the Minister today with two demands of the Sask. Party government: to comply with the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s recommendation and release the basic information that had been requested, and to finally grant the Information and Privacy Commissioner the power to compel public bodies to release documents.

Statement from NDP Leader Ryan Meili on World Suicide Prevention Day

“As we mark World Suicide Prevention Day, I think of people like Samwel Uko, who died needlessly after being turned away from the ER.

“I think of Tristen Durocher and the Walking With Our Angels group – a group the Sask. Party preferred to take to court instead of engaging in conversations about the far too many First Nations children who have been lost to suicide.

NDP calls on Sask Party to stop hiding the costs of fixing Saskatchewan's crumbling schools

Privacy Commissioner Report Finds No Reason for Withholding Information 

Today the Saskatchewan NDP called on the Sask. Party to stop hiding the cost of fixing Saskatchewan's crumbling schools, pointing to the latest Privacy Commissioner Report, which found no reason for withholding the information.

NDP calls for strategy to deal with rising number of overdose deaths

With overdose deaths spiking in Saskatchewan under the Sask. Party’s failed approach, the NDP is calling for a strategy for community safety and dedicated action to address the increase of opioids and crystal meth addictions in Saskatchewan.  

“We’ve seen the devastating toll that addiction takes on communities and families, but without a clear and comprehensive strategy, this crisis will continue to rage,” said NDP Mental Health and Addictions Critic Danielle Chartier. “A strategy starts with providing improved access to naloxone kits, eliminating the wait times for detox and between detox and treatment, and introducing dedicated mental health and addictions emergency rooms, so patients with mental health and addictions issues receive timely care instead of getting triaged to the bottom and waiting longer for treatment. When someone struggling with addiction asks for help, that help needs to be there immediately, not several weeks later.”

Child psychiatrists and psychiatric beds “desperately needed”: NDP

The NDP is calling on the government to address the lack of child psychiatrists and psychiatric beds in Prince Albert, citing a significant negative impact on families in the north and the rest of the province.  

“The people of Prince Albert and the north have been let down by a government that hasn’t put the proper supports in place,” said NDP Mental Health and Addictions Critic Danielle Chartier. “The services provided by child psychiatrists are desperately needed, but the government’s response has been just more austerity, which means more cuts and claw backs for the services families rely on.”