Labour leaders say petition shows no appetite for privatization in Saskatchewan

REGINA – Labour leaders have descended on the Saskatchewan legislature calling for an end to what they say is privatization by stealth.

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour gave the Opposition NDP a petition with nearly 20,000 signatures from people who say they want the government to stop privatization.

Federation president Larry Hubich says the government has sold Crown corporations and privatized hospital laundry and correctional food services.

Hubich says the government should also come clean with contracts it has signed with the private sector to build a highway bypass around Regina and schools across the province.

The Saskatchewan government passed legislation earlier this month that will allow people to pay for MRIs at private clinics.

Unions have said it’s the beginning of two-tier health care and raised the possibility that private clinics will poach medical workers from the public system.