In his latest campaign announcement NDP Leader Ryan Meili promises to build a new surgery and outpatient centre in Regina. Meili says with wait lists growing and fewer surgeries performed this year than last year, people don’t want to worry about whether they’ll be able to get the surgery they need.
Regina resident Donna Smith, who joined NDP leader Ryan Meili for his announcement Wednesday morning, says she would benefit from shorter surgical wait times considering she has been on a wait list since June 2019.

“The longer people wait, the more they suffer, the more outcomes can be worse. It is past time to put an end to the long wait times too many people like myself have endured.”

Meili suggests the Sask. Party government’s plan that introduced what he describes as American-style, user pay MRI’s has doubled the wait lists for those procedures. He renewed his commitment to introduce legislation that would ban the practice of directly charging patients for the costs of surgical and diagnostic services.

The new centre he is suggesting for Regina would be a $60 million facility that would include surgery, diagnostic imaging, pharmacy, rehabilitation, and outpatient cancer care.