NDP making the rounds in rural Sask. with focus on keeping ERs open

The provincial NDP kicked off their tour of rural Saskatchewan with a stop in Balgonie on Wednesday. (Jacob Carr / CTV News)

Members of the provincial opposition were in Balgonie on Wednesday to kick off their rural campaign tour, with a focus on keeping ERs open.

The tour comes after Bill 606 was not passed during the Spring Sitting, a bill which would have required real-time reporting of ER closures within one hour.

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The tour is being led by NDP MLAs Jared Clarke and Keith Jorgenson, who had made a petition to municipal leaders across the province seeking support for transparency around ER closures.

“These municipal leaders know full well that more could be done to keep emergency rooms open — we could be doing a better job of recruiting frontline workers, of improving culture and retaining existing workers and more,” Jorgenson said in an update from the NDP on Wednesday.

“They also understand that, in the event of a closure, access to information can make a real difference. Literally, minutes can be the difference between life and death.”

Clarke said the party aims to get out to as many rural communities as possible and have face to face conversations with residents.

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He also added that it is easier for the NDP to cover each corner of the province since the caucus now consists of 26 members.

Clarke mentioned the party was in Weyburn on Tuesday and healthcare was the number one issue that was brought up by the city’s citizens.

“People are feeling frustrated, and so we are going into these communities that we are as part of this tour, going into many communities across the province, in rural Saskatchewan, to listen, to have conversations about what could fix healthcare in their communities and build a plan that’s going to deliver those things,” he said.

The summer tour also comes as part of the ongoing Your Care, Your Say Project, which focuses the system on patients. Everyone in Saskatchewan is encouraged to provide input on the project.