Today, NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat introduced Bill No. 617 — The Voluntary Blood Donation Act in an effort to strengthen the province’s volunteer blood donor system and limit safety risks associated with paying for blood donations.
“By making it clear that you can’t pay someone to make a blood donation, we will ensure that donations will stay in the province and serve Saskatchewan people who need it, while also bolstering the volunteer system run by Canadian Blood Services (CBS),” Mowat said.
The NDP is calling on the Sask. Party government to properly fund classrooms, and to track, and set a maximum size for classroom sizes, after years of underfunding have made increasingly crowded and complex classrooms throughout the province more challenging for teachers to manage.
“We have 70 schools in the province that are already overcapacity, and we have classrooms with 30, 40, or even more students,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “The challenges are already there, and they aren’t getting any easier for teachers, especially not when you consider the millions that have been cut from classrooms by this government.”
Today Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili asked Premier Scott Moe to join him in seeking answers from the three main federal party leaders on where they stand regarding Saskatchewan’s need for a fair equalization formula.
“Saskatchewan people deserve to know where the federal parties stand on our push for a fair equalization deal,” said Meili. “Though we have proposed different solutions, Premier Moe and I are in agreement that the current deal doesn’t work for Saskatchewan people. Today I asked the Premier to join me in seeking clarity ahead of the next federal election on where the parties stand.”
After the release of the fourteenth report into the Northern Village of Pinehouse's handling of Freedom-of-Information requests last week, the Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the government to empower the Information and Privacy Commissioner to order documents.
"As the government-appointed inspector made clear in his report, this is not an 'isolated aberration' — the issues raised here 'may and likely do occur in other municipalities,'" said NDP Ethics and Democracy Critic David Forbes. "That's why we're calling on the government to provide Saskatchewan people the accountability they deserve by granting the Information Commissioner the authority to order documents to be made public."
The NDP is calling for a plan to address a physician shortage for opioid substitution therapies in Regina. Two doctors who previously handled the 700-patient caseload are no longer offering services, and a lone physician has been hired to fill this gap.
“This is a crisis that needs immediate attention,” said NDP Mental Health and Addictions Critic Danielle Chartier. “Those who are trying to manage their opioid use disorders will face significant wait times to get the needed care.”
The annual report from the Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth highlighted yet again how the Sask. Party government is failing children in care.
“There are too many kids in care, and too many kids dying or critically injured while they’re in care,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili. “When the need to act is so clear, it’s frustrating to see how little has changed.”