REGINA — Opposition New Democrats continued their coordinated efforts to attack the government over health care, this time focusing on cancer patients who died while waiting for treatment.
At a media availability at the Legislature on Thursday, NDP health critic Meara Conway pointed to Saskatchewan Cancer Agency data obtained by SecondStreet.org, which showed that during the 2024-25 fiscal year, 86 Saskatchewan residents with cancer died before they could receive treatment.
“In fact, they died before their first appointment with an oncologist,” Conway said.
Of those who died, 28 were diagnosed with lung cancer, 13 with colorectal cancer, 10 with liver or pancreatic cancer, nine with kidney or bladder cancer, seven with breast cancer and 19 with other forms of cancer.
“Far too many vulnerable people are spending their final days waiting in pain and waiting for help,” Conway said.
She also cited figures showing Saskatchewan had 333 people die while waiting on wait lists for various types of surgeries, not limited to cancer care. That ranked Saskatchewan third highest among provinces per 100,000 people, at 26.7 per cent.
“We are 58.9 per cent higher than the Canadian average,” Conway said, adding the NDP has also raised concerns about patients paying travel expenses for out-of-province care.
She called the situation unacceptable.
“As usual, Saskatchewan is back of the pack,” Conway said. “We're third highest, 58.9 per cent higher than the average. We're struggling to recruit specialists. We see this government firing frontline health-care leaders. I can't imagine that's helping the whole recruitment thing.”
Conway also took aim at recent government statements about using innovation to address health-care challenges.
“I’m increasingly convinced the term innovation is really a term meaning more privatization, and this is what we have 15 years later,” she said.
“This government has nothing to brag about when it comes to surgeries in Saskatchewan. We have some of the highest rates of individuals dying on surgical wait lists here in Saskatchewan.”
The Saskatchewan Cancer Agency responded to the NDP news conference in a statement, noting it treats more than 7,600 individuals with a cancer diagnosis each year, and that each patient is at a unique point in their journey when referred.
"In the rare circumstance that a patient passes away while awaiting an oncologist consult, a number of factors may be attributed, including: the cancer is already in an advanced stage by the time it is discovered; the patient opts not to pursue treatment, or to pursue alternate treatment paths aside from traditional medicine; additional tests have been requested that can help to determine the extent of the diagnosis and the care options available," the statement said.
The agency added it actively monitors wait times for new referrals and regularly takes action to ensure wait times fall within acceptable limits, such as adding extra clinic hours during the day and evening.
"Cancer care has made enormous strides and in many cases can be treated as a chronic condition, with longer life spans and improved patient outcomes. We, along with our partners throughout the health system, remain focused on that goal," the statement said.
In response to lung cancer statistics, the agency added:
"Lung Cancer is unfortunately one of those that is often diagnosed at very advanced stages. We now know that screening is possible to better detect this cancer at an earlier stage, which is why Saskatchewan is implementing the LungCheck program. LungCheck launched at an initial site in Swift Current in 2025, with a second community scheduled to come online by March 31, 2026. This program is made possible through funding from the Government of Saskatchewan."
The province also issued a statement saying that while more work remains, "Saskatchewan is making progress."
"In 2024-25, surgical wait times in Saskatchewan decreased, with the province performing better than the national average on most cancer surgery wait times, and shorter wait times for hip and knee replacement surgeries were reported in Saskatchewan, compared to multiple other jurisdictions."
The province added the statistical data referenced by the opposition regarding patient deaths while awaiting surgery "is not entirely accurate as it includes patients who have passed away from causes unrelated to the condition for which they were awaiting surgery."
The statement also said private surgical centres in Regina and Saskatoon, operating under contract with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, "continue to provide much needed additional capacity to our health system. While our government continues to expand surgical capacity in our public hospitals and ramp up staff recruitment efforts through our Health Human Resources Action Plan, the NDP have again committed to shutting down publicly funded privately delivered surgeries which would cause surgical waitlists to skyrocket."
