Saskatchewan NDP Caucus

NDP calls on Premier to proactively disclose correspondence on potential WE conflict of interest

Raising concerns about the timeline that preceded a quarter-of-a-million-dollar partnership between WE Charity and the Ministry of Education, the Saskatchewan NDP is calling on Premier Moe to proactively release his correspondence with the Conflict of Interest Commissioner regarding his recent trip to Kenya with the organization’s founder, Craig Kielburger. The Premier met with Mr. Kielburger on two separate occasions last fall, and the Premier indicated yesterday that a contract with his organization was already under consideration at that time.

“The Premier said yesterday that he’d discussed a possible WE contract with the Minister of Education as early as last summer or fall, but maintains that there was no conflict of interest in his Kielburger visit to Kenya because it was cleared by the conflict of interest commissioner,” said NDP Education Critic Carla Beck. “Did the Premier inform the Commissioner that he and the Education Minister had discussed a programming partnership with the charity that Moe was travelling with? If there’s nothing to hide this should be simple: the Premier should proactively release his communication with the Commissioner on this issue.”

Sask. Party Contract with Trudeau-Linked WE Charity Raises Serious Questions: NDP

The Saskatchewan NDP is raising questions about the Sask. Party’s $260,000 non-competitive contract with WE Charity to “promote student well-being” in schools. Just this winter, the Premier and his wife traveled to Kenya as guests of Craig Kielburger, the WE Charity founder embroiled in an ongoing scandal along with Prime Minister Trudeau.

“The timeline of events raises serious questions about the propriety and value of this contract,” said NDP Education Critic Carla Beck. “Who made the decision to hand WE Charity this contract, what is it intended to deliver for Saskatchewan students, and why did the Sask. Party choose a Trudeau-linked, Toronto-based charity to develop materials for our schools instead of actually addressing the understaffing and under-resourcing they’ve caused?”

Statement from NDP Leader Ryan Meili on increased number of COVID-19 cases

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Dr. Ryan Meili is demanding that Minister of Health Jim Reiter answer for the lack of public communication about the spike in COVID-19 cases in the last 72 hours in Saskatchewan.

“Active cases more than doubled, from 43 to 90, over three days, without a peep from the Government. The lack of communication coming from this Health Minister is unacceptable,” said Meili. “Saskatchewan families have done what the government and health officials have asked them to do, at real personal and financial cost. Their efforts have worked to flatten the curve. But for that to continue, the Minister of Health has to be honest and timely with information about the pandemic.”

NDP, patient waiting for hip surgery call for action on ballooning wait times

NDP Leader Ryan Meili was joined by Sue Delanoy who has been waiting over two years for double hip surgery, to call on the province to address the growing backlog of surgeries in the province by providing adequate funding.

“Even before the crisis hit, people were waiting too long,” said Meili. “And COVID-19 had a drastic impact on the number of surgeries being performed in the province – almost 11,000 fewer than the year before. Now, with wait lists longer than ever and over 26,000 patients on the list, the Sask. Party government has done nothing new to add more resources to the health system to bring wait lists down. The Sask. Party’s budget completely missed the mark and just leaves Saskatchewan people waiting.”

Give people the time they need to pay SaskTel Bills: NDP

With Saskatchewan people and businesses continuing to struggle from the economic impacts of COVID-19 and SaskTel in a strong position, the NDP is calling for the government to expand service in rural Saskatchewan and introduce greater flexibility for Crown bill repayments where needed.

“With the release of the SaskTel annual report today, we can see that this valued Crown Corporation is in a strong financial position to give people the time they need to pay their bills,” said NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon. “The Sask. Party’s arbitrary limits on the window of time for arrears to be settled only furthers the financial burden for customers. Extending the pay period just makes sense.”

Sask. Party’s incomplete and inadequate budget leaves public with clear choice

The summer Legislative session that almost wasn’t wrapped today. Throughout the three-week session the NDP pushed  the government to put people first in education, long-term care and economic recovery planning, and rejected the Sask. Party’s incomplete and inadequate budget document as a pre-election ploy designed to distract from their plans for cuts and sell-offs.

“Saskatchewan people, who have sacrificed so much in recent months, face a clear choice between a tired government that won’t be honest about their plans for cuts and sell-offs, and an NDP opposition committed to investing in people,” Meili said. “The Premier didn’t want to present a budget or face us in the Legislature. We gave the Premier a chance to present a budget and a recovery plan. He hid instead behind a cut-and-paste budget from before the pandemic that added no new funding for education or healthcare, childcare or seniors’ care.”