Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili is touring Saskatchewan, meeting with people in communities about their concerns. He was in the Yorkton area on July 19 with Yens Pedersen, the NDP agriculture critic, meeting with people in surrounding communities as well as Yorkton itself.
Young people were the focus of this part of the trip, as Meili met with educators in the Sturgis area and the Yorkton Tribal Council’s child and family services. It was followed by meetings in Melville with child care groups.
In his meetings with YTC, Meili said it was interesting to see how things were connected, and how they affected families.
“It was really interesting to hear some of things they highlighted. STC was a big one, how difficult it makes getting to things like court, or getting to visit family... As well, they talked about the low minimum wage, and how hard that makes it for lower income families to make ends meet. With Saskatchewan having the lowest minimum wage in the country, it makes it really hard for people to make that step out of poverty. As well, the troubles within the child welfare system and how willing and able the government has been to try to connect people with culture and make sure they stay connected with their families.”
The education system needs more investment because classrooms are getting more complex, but teachers are not getting more resources to help them deal with it.
Rural education has its own challenges, which Meili said he wouldn’t be aware of if they just stick to Regina or Saskatoon.
“We were with teachers who work in Norquay, and they were talking about what happened when Pelly school closed just a few years ago. All these new students came into Norquay, but no resources followed.”
The focus on children is one that needs to happen, Meili said, because it’s a way to prevent issues down the road, and investments in child care have knock-on effects down the road.
“When you put a dollar in childcare, you save $10 a few years down the road in having to care for that kid in other ways, in healthcare, in social services, in justice... It’s something that has been a big miss on the part of the Saskatchewan Party government.”
There is a crisis surrounding drug use in the province, and Meili said he’s seeing problems getting people the help they need to get clean, because the system is over capacity.
“When people come forward, saying ‘I’m ready to get help, and get off drugs or get off alcohol,’ we don’t have to tell them ‘great, come back in three months, and keep using in the meantime,’ which is basically what is happening in clinical settings now, because there are no beds available, and if they are available they’re only for 28 days, which is nowhere near enough for people to just get free of the drug let alone the traumas and problems that led them to using in the first place.”
Meili was also promoting their renew Saskatchewan plan, a way to build green infrastructure through loans, which would be paid through residents’ power bills. He said it’s a win for everyone, with the energy being cleaner while saving money, but it would be able to deal with the high buy-in cost.
“We lower people’s bills, get to green energy, and in the process, put a lot of people to work.”
Meili would also see more emphasize on buying local for construction projects, as well as getting rid of the PST on construction products in order to help municipalities able to meet their needs.
Meili’s tour of the province continues, and he said that’s he is going to be travelling because he needs to get out to meet as many people as possible if they are going to represent the province’s needs.
