SASKATOON — The Saskatchewan NDP resumed criticizing the government over health care closures, presenting data obtained through a Freedom of Information request and describing the situation as worsening under the Saskatchewan Party’s leadership.
The Opposition said there have been 643 service closures in the past 18 months, or 3,362 days of no health-care services. They added that the province’s health-care system has gone in the wrong direction since the Saskatchewan Party assumed government in 2007 under Brad Wall, and in 2018 under Scott Moe.
The FOI obtained by the NDP shows internal Saskatchewan Health Authority data recording 86 service closures totalling 808 days of lost health care from February 2018 to July 2019, the first 18 months of Moe’s tenure as premier. Almost half of those days came from two prolonged service closures in Turtleford and the Battlefords. In Prince Albert, between 2018 and 2025, Victoria Hospital experienced 25 disruptions totalling 113 days.
“This isn’t just a few isolated incidents — it’s a full-blown crisis right across our province. Hospitals are closing, ERs are going on bypass, and maternity wards are shutting down. This government is failing to provide even the most basic care for Saskatchewan families. They are even trying to replace emergency room doctors with webcams,” said Shadow Minister for Rural and Remote Health Jared Clarke.
“Health care is getting worse, and it's our rural communities and medium-sized cities like Prince Albert and Moose Jaw that are paying the biggest price. We’re the birthplace of Medicare – we shouldn’t be ranked last in Canada. After 18 years in power, the tired and out-of-touch Saskatchewan Party has broken our health-care system. They can’t be trusted to fix it.”
From February 2018 to mid-2019, disruptions mainly affected emergency rooms, diagnostics and surgeries. Today, they extend into nearly every corner of the health-care system, including obstetrics, acute care, MRIs, CT scans and lab services, NDP noted.
Clarke visited Prince Albert, Shellbrook and Meadow Lake early this week to draw attention to what he called a worsening health-care crisis, with more stops planned in other communities experiencing service disruptions in the coming days.
