WATCH ABOVE: Analysts say the opposition has made some gains on health care issues
REGINA – Saskatchewan’s fall legislative sitting wrapped up with the government again forced to defend the state of long term care.
Nearly every day of the final two weeks, a family went public with allegations of under-staffing and neglect at seniors living facilities across the province.
When asked if Saskatchewan is facing a crisis in seniors care, Premier Brad Wall said it’s not a systemic issue,
“We’ve dealt with challenges in wait times for surgery without saying the whole acute health care system was in crisis. We had long wait lists,” Wall said. “I think that’s a real difference between the characterizations we’ve seen.”
LISTEN: Premier Brad Wall comments on health care, fall sitting wrapping up
Health issues topped the agenda the last two months as the opposition NDP continued to attack Lean, the government’s plan to streamline health care.
Last week, some health regions struggled to prove Lean was saving any substantial amount of money.
“The numbers they’ve been talking about do not in any way match up with the reality we’ve heard from workers and from patients and residents,” said NDP leader Cam Broten.
LISTEN: NDP leader Cam Broten shares his thoughts on seniors care, fall sitting
Tack that on to criticisms of the failed SaskPower smart meter program. A scathing report was released early in the session that showed the Crown corporation failed to make customer safety a priority.
READ MORE: Comprehensive timeline of the SaskPower smart meter saga
Jim Farney, a University of Regina political scientist, believes the NDP made small gains in raising these issues.
“Better than I think they’ve done in awhile,” Farney said. “But they weren’t able to connect them to actual decisions made by the government in a really convincing story.”
All eyes at the legislature will now be locked on the spring sitting when the government will deliver its budget.
As oil prices continue to fall, it’s unlikely to be as rosy a picture as it was last year.
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