Women in northeast Saskatchewan used to be able to get their obstetrics care at the Flin Flon hospital, but babies haven’t been delivered there since last November, leaving these women with hours of highway travel for obstetrics services, including pre-birth care. The provincial NDP urged the SaskParty government last year to talk with the Manitoba government to work something out, but so far there is no solution. Kirsten Fritsch, who is from Creighton and is a member of the We Want Birth Committee, traveled to Saskatoon to highlight the issue. She says it was a three-and-a-half hour drive with no cell service for most of the way, and in the winter, these women could be dealing with severe weather conditions on their way to Prince Albert or Saskatoon.

That’s why many choose to leave weeks in advance, to make sure they are near healthcare when they need it, but Fritsch says it is a financial burden , along with the emotional burden of trying to figure out when it’s time to go, and that doesn’t include the pre-birth care. She asks the government to step up and act.