Despite assurances from Minister, pleas for help going unanswered
REGINA - Today, Official Opposition Critic for Social Services Meara Conway was joined at the Legislature by single parents struggling to make ends meet on the SIS program. Together, they called on the government to address the many shortcomings of the program that have only been worsened by the affordability crisis.
“The Sask. Party was warned back in 2019 that their SIS program would result in fewer supports and more homelessness by landlords, social workers and community organizations. They chose to ignore these calls and now families are paying the price,” said Conway. “This lack of support and seeming lack of care is exactly what is keeping families, including children, in the cycle of poverty.”
Members of the Legislative Assembly were joined today by Kelly Anderson and Frank Francoeur, single parents who both saw their incomes decrease as a result of transferring to the SIS program and having to pay utilities out of benefits rather than direct payment. Despite Minister Carr’s earlier assurances that anyone at risk of homelessness due to changes to SIS should contact her office, correspondence from MLA Conway, on behalf of Mr. Francoeur, sent at the end of March went unanswered and he has now been evicted.
“Frank is a single dad with two kids living in Regina. Like so many others, when he transferred to the SIS program his income went down and he struggled to keep a roof over his family’s head and put food on the table,” said Conway. “The SIS program is pushing struggling families out of their homes and the Minister won’t so much as acknowledge their pleas. The Sask. Party’s supports for the most vulnerable are grossly inadequate.”
The Official Opposition calls on the government to scrap their failed SIS program, return to direct payments of utilities and rent and immediately commit to increasing benefits for families struggling to get back on their feet.
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Poor working conditions, favouritism, $300K travel nurse pay at issue
REGINA - Today, the Official Opposition released a letter signed by 49 emergency room nurses in Saskatoon. The letter slams the Sask. Party government for failing to support Saskatchewan nurses and curb the province’s reliance on expensive out-of-province travel nurses.
REGINA - Today, Official Opposition Critic for First Nations and Métis Relations Betty Nippi-Albright hosted a Day of Action with Indigenous leaders from Nekaneet First Nation, Yellow Quill First Nation, Waterhen Lake First Nation, Onion Lake Cree Nation, Carry The Kettle First Nation, Key First Nation and the residential school support team from Yorkton Tribal Council. Together, they continue to draw attention to the Sask. Party government’s disregard for the Duty to Consult process.
MOOSE JAW - Today, the Official Opposition stood with Taylor Enns, president of the Moose Jaw Firefighters Association, and Brayden Dutchak, the son of a cancer survivor. Together, they called on the Sask. Party government to reopen Saskatchewan’s only hyperbaric chamber.
Records show former Sask. Party Finance Minister lobbied for Calgary surgery scheme on behalf of a major Sask. Party donor
REGINA - Today, the Official Opposition grilled the Premier and his Minister of Health after the Minister misled the public, claiming that he had not been lobbied by a former Sask. Party MLA when Saskatchewan's official lobbyist logs show the exact opposite.