Saskatchewan NDP Caucus

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.”

Snap decision to cancel contract puts rural healthcare at risk: NDP

NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat questioned Health Minister Jim Reiter today about his decision to cancel the pandemic contracts with family doctors without notice or consultation.

“This pandemic has exposed the strains and pressures on our already-stretched healthcare system, particularly in rural Saskatchewan, where this government has struggled for years to keep emergency rooms open and keep doctors in rural communities,” said Mowat.

Reality check: The five weirdest things Moe said in Premier’s Estimates

Premier Scott Moe had some curious things to say in Premier’s Estimates today under questioning from Leader of the Opposition Ryan Meili. 

First, when asked if he had seen any financial projections beyond the current year as part of the budget development process, the Premier said he had not. Days earlier when asked how long it would take to get the province back to balance, he shrugged and said the Finance Minister “knows more than me” when informed she had said it would take three to four years. It stretches the imagination to accept that the Premier has been so hands-off in the development of his pre-election budget.

NDP questions Sask. Party’s ‘Lean’ PPE purge

Information obtained through Freedom of Information shows the Sask. Party government paid high-priced US-based Lean consultants to lead healthcare workers through a purge of a pandemic supply warehouse in Regina with the explicit goal of donating, recycling or trashing fifty percent of the pandemic stockpile.

“The Sask. Party’s Lean consultants led healthcare professionals through a ‘spring cleaning’ of the pandemic room at the Regina General Hospital with the explicit goal of reducing inventory by fifty percent,” said NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat. “They Marie-Kondo’d our pandemic supply warehouse, and we want to know how much that approach contributed to leaving us dangerously short of supplies this spring.”