NDP Leader Ryan Meili joined with three Saskatchewan salon and barbershop proprietors to raise concerns about the lack of consultation with, and lack of proper guidelines for, businesses allowed to open on May 19th. Meili repeated his call for a delay in phase two of the plan, as case numbers continue to climb, and testing remains below the government’s stated goal of 1,500 per day.
Trent Wotherspoon, NDP Critic for Municipal Relations and Finance, called on the provincial and federal governments to provide additional funding as grants to help compensate for serious revenue losses and interest free loans to support property tax deferrals to municipalities impacted by COVID-19. The NDP is also calling for the provincial government to invest in Saskatchewan’s economic recovery by removing the PST from construction labour for municipal projects.
The Saskatchewan NDP is asking the Minister of Health to answer for recent communications breakdowns in the handling of COVID-19, including the initial downplaying of the La Loche outbreak, which has now spread to Prince Albert and other communities in the Northwest, and the delay in notifying the public about the Lloydminster outbreak.
In response to the news that an outbreak has been declared at the Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert, Prince Albert Northcote MLA Nicole Rancourt issued the following statement:
To help combat the uncertainty for families and childcare centres caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saskatchewan NDP is calling for the government to provide bridge funding for unused childcare spaces.
Thursday, NDP Leader and Critic for First Nations and Métis Relations Ryan Meili, joined by the MLA for Athabasca Buckley Belanger and Northern Affairs Critic Doyle Vermette, pressed the province to take urgent action to stop the COVID-19 outbreak in La Loche and Patuanak, and provide emergency funding support for Northern municipalities.
Frontline organizations have repeatedly raised the alarm over a critical lack of provincial funding. In response, NDP Leader Ryan Meili is calling on the province to provide $3 million in emergency funding: $1.5 million for organizations running frontline emergency shelters, and $1.5 million in emergency funding for Saskatchewan food banks.
Today, in response to the provincial government’s decision to authorize $4,568,663,000 of public spending through a special warrant, NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon called on the provincial government to recall the legislature and present a budget to fully respond to COVID-19.
As Saskatchewan prepares to mark the National Day of Mourning to remember workers injured or killed on the job, NDP Leader Ryan Meili is calling for more support for frontline workers facing significant risk during this pandemic.