The Health Ministry wants to see the regional health authorities reduce their budgets for Community Based Organizations (CBO) by 10 per cent.
In the 2016-17 budget, CBO funding was approximately $15.7 million.
CBOs offer a wide variety of health services such as mental health outreach and addictions support.
Health Minister Jim Reiter said that health accounts for 40 per cent of government spending. That has to be tighten, and the minister wants to see a focus on core services.
“The health region officials are going to be asked to make their recommendations, then the ministry officials will review it, then finally it will come to me,” Reiter explained.
There have been no final decisions made yet on how the 10 per cent saving will be achieved overall.
“So it may be some that are eliminated entirely, and some that aren’t cut at all,” Reiter said.
“It will be a matter of looking through that, things that we’re funding, which organizations are providing what we think are necessary services,” Reiter continued.
The Opposition NDP argue that CBOs provide essential services to the most vulnerable across the province, and even a ten per cent cut would cause devastation.
“When you’re looking at CBOs who serve the most vulnerable for mental health supports, or supporting those with autism, or medically fragile children,” Opposition leader Trent Wotherspoon said.
Wotherspoon said that this cut is something that everyone in Saskatchewan will pay for.
“People pay for it through their lives. Families pay for it. We also pay for it through more expensive services, through hospital care, through our corrections system,” he said.
“It’s more costly and it’s indecent.”
The 12 health regions need to have their budgets submitted in June. After that, Health Ministry officials will review the budgets, and then forward them to Reiter for final approval.
Comments