Healthcare and other key issues were argued by Lloydminster MLA candidates at the Lloydminster Chamber of Commerce’s Oct. 16 provincial debate.
The event, hosted at the Lloydminster Exhibition saw incumbent Sask. Party representative Colleen Young took criticism from NDP hopeful Adam Tremblay and Sask. United Party’s Joshua Bloom.
The topics ranged from carbon tax, net-zero targets, and policing to education and healthcare. Healthcare was the longest-debated topic of the evening.
Tremblay noted that the Province is last in healthcare in Canada and criticized the ruling party’s file handling. He then laid out his party’s plan to improve healthcare in the sector.
“What the Sask NDP is proposing… is exactly what the system needs and that’s an investment of 1.1 billion dollars into health care to ensure that we get that timely access to emergency rooms, clinics and we hire more doctors and nurses,” stated Tremblay. “(We are) committed to hiring 800 new frontline health care workers because we understand what is happening right now in health care and it requires people in the front lines working.”
He claims with that investment, they could turn multiple casual part-time jobs into permanent positions, which would attract people to communities. Additionally, they propose an in-house training program to support current employees in achieving the next level of schooling if they desire.
Young countered the point, stating the Saskatchewan Party has created 250 permanent jobs in rural communities since 2022. They also introduced the Health Human Resource Action Plan to address the issue.
“As a result of our Sask party investments we have 1,100 more doctors and 6,400 more nurses working in Saskatchewan. 300 more continuing care assistants have been added to long-term care and home care,” said Young. “There are more specialists working such as MRI technologists, respiratory therapists, speech and language pathologists and advanced care paramedics.”
Meanwhile, Young highlighted the government has actively recruited and sourced 750 internationally educated healthcare professionals. 380 have started working in the healthcare system, and 1,400 just recently graduated from post-secondary institutions for nursing.
From the perspective of the United Party, Bloom suggested implementing a federal system to promote healthcare workers in our community.
“We want to follow the Royal Military College officer program and where students and new healthcare professionals will have their education paid for in exchange for a commitment to serve in Saskatchewan for a specified amount of time,” suggested Bloom. “We want to have retention bonuses and competitive compensation for the healthcare workers that we have now. Retention bonuses will be offered for healthcare professionals who choose to stay and work in Saskatchewan, ensuring that we not only attract but we also retain top talent.”
The NDP candidate quickly jumped on Young, accusing her of not providing the numbers of professionals who left their positions. He claimed 4,000 staff left just last year. He also said there have been over 8,600 service blackouts in rural hospitals over the past five years. Additionally, he stated we send people to hospitals in Calgary to get surgeries done because they can’t be done in Saskatchewan.
“Enough is enough. It needs investment if we want public healthcare to continue in this province,” a frustrated Tremblay stated. “That’s what we have to commit to and that’s what we are committed to.”
Young claimed that the Sask Party implemented a retention program. However, the NDP originally proposed the program in 2007 which offers $24,000 to keep students working in Saskatchewan. It’s a tax break provided over the next 10 years of working in the province. She also said healthcare is the biggest expenditure for the government, in the Billions of dollars range.
“There is not a province in Canada that you could go to today. That isn’t seeing these same issues and concerns.So the fact that we did sit down and put a health human resources action plan in place to address those concerns and have been working to it is a very positive thing for the people of this province,” stated Young. “Other provinces are still struggling to catch up. We need both public and private healthcare to be able to catch up and make things work in this province as well.”
The Provincial election is slated for Oct. 28. Voting locations are below.
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