The Opposition New Democrats held a media availability outside what was once a medical clinic to ask why the province spend part of its resource windfall – or even the COVID money given by the federal government – into health care.
Health Critic Vicky Mowat wondered where health minister Paul Merriman has been in recent months.
“And the health minister won’t so much as show his face in public,” Mowat said. “He hasn’t hosted a media availability since May. He needs to come out of hiding and go to bat for his portfolio.”
The province announced a $1.04 billion surplus for the upcoming fiscal year earlier this week as a result of sky-high resource revenues.
Mowat and Opposition Leader Carla Beck were outside a former health clinic on Pasqua Street in Regina to make that point clear.
“The Sask Party might lack the vision to fix our health care system but solutions do exist,” Mowat said. “Today we’re calling on the Sask Party to stop squandering the resource boom and consider one-time potential opportunities in health care.”
The provincial government announced a huge spike in resource revenues in their first quarter financials earlier this week. They have decided to provide a $500 cheque for those over 18 who filed their taxes, as well as a few things that were knocked off the PST expansion in October, an extension of the small business tax cut and paying down the debt.
Beck compared paying down the debt with health care in crisis to paying down the mortgage while the roof is caving in.
Beck said many provinces and territories are undergoing similar health care recruitment and retention issues.
“Not every single province is sitting on record revenue from resource royalties,” Beck said. “Also, the status quo is costing us additional money in this province as well, whether it be contract nurses or overtime.”
They say the province has only spent less than a third of the federal money earmarked for surgical wait times.
