April was a tough month for everyone as the sacrifices we’re all making to flatten the curve of COVID-19 are proving to be an ongoing struggle.
Saskatchewan people have grit. I want to thank you for what you’ve done for all of us by staying home as much as possible and practising safe physical distancing. I want to give an extra thank-you to those of us working on the frontlines to get people the supplies and services they need.
The announcement of a plan to open some sectors of our provincial economy has sparked both a lot of excitement and a lot of anxiety. It is incredibly important that we remain vigilant, maintain physical distancing and work together to contain existing outbreaks and avert further ones.
I want to remind all of you that while some parts of our province will be open once again on May 4, but it is critical to maintain physical distancing.
We have repeatedly called on the provincial government to bring together a taskforce of Saskatchewan leaders, so that we can design a plan to deal with COVID-19 that works for everyone. Leaders in health and education, municipalities, First Nations and Métis leadership, community organizations, labour, business, government and the opposition should all be working together to make a plan that works for people.
We are seeing how badly this is needed with the outbreaks in Lloydminster and La Loche.
The outbreak in the northwest of our province are now the most severe we’ve ever seen. Leaders in the north have not been consulted by the government and have not received the additional funding they need. This government must stop neglecting the north and stop leaving local leaders in the dark.
New Democrats have been working hard to get answers from the provincial government on the many questions that families have about jobs, businesses, daycares, schools and funding for northern communities.
We are pushing hard to get the legislature re-opened in some form, so we can get some basic scrutiny on these big decisions that the government is making.
Since they have elected not to work with and consult with leadership around the province, it is their duty to at least be accessible and transparent to all of us.
