As 2019 comes to a close, the leader of the Saskatchewan NDP says there were some wins for the official opposition and many challenges remain.

Ryan Meili says some of the issues on peoples’ minds are what he calls the crisis in our classrooms with more students and more with specific special needs, but with not enough funding. He adds that overcrowding is also a problem in emergency rooms leading to ‘hallway medicine’.

Some of the wins for the NDP include advocating for stricter regulations for vaping, and the government has introduced legislation which will restrict where products can be sold and where it can be used, similar to tobacco legislation.

Meili feels another win for them was releasing a memo from the Saskatchewan Health Authority to physicians which Meili interprets as criticizing doctors for speaking to their own licensing body or to various health Foundations or the Health ministry looking for more resources. Because of that, the government has committed to expanding whistleblower legislation.

Looking ahead to 2020, Meili says the big goal is to win the November 2nd provincial election, which comes a week after municipal elections on October 26th.