“When it comes to Northern Saskatchewan, we see a lot of cuts from the Sask. Party – we saw it with NORTEP and NORPAC and we saw it with the Aboriginal Court Worker Program and, when it comes to healthcare, they are quite simply failing,” said NDP Health Critic Danielle Chartier. “The Sask. Party has refused to ensure proper resources and staffing to meet the health needs in the north.”
The Saskatchewan Medical Association president Dr. Intheran Pillay and vice-president Joanne Siverston recently visited northern communities and they highlighted a number of issues, including a lack of adequate funding and mental health services.
“The Sask. Party has had a penchant for spending wildly on things like the consultant John Black and his Lean scheme, but health regions, including in the north, have been given too little and are left scrambling to provide services,” Chartier said. “In light of the recent tragedies in northern Saskatchewan, the Sask. Party can no longer ignore the long-term consequences their refusal to properly fund healthcare will have on the people living in these communities.”