The Saskatchewan NDP are concerned that the provincial government is committing to no serious actions to fight COVID-19, while numbers continue to rise.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili says this concerns him a great deal, and that Scott Moe is putting politics and his opinions over public health advice. Meili suggests the province does not need to make decisions on what’s good for Scott Moe, we need to be making decisions based on what’s good for the health and well-being of Saskatchewan people and for the economy. Meili states if we get this wrong it will be incredibly damaging for Saskatchewan’s economy.

Meili believes Saskatchewan needs to look at Manitoba and other jurisdictions that are facing cases and higher restrictions and ask what weren’t they doing a month ago, that we should be doing now. Meili called for more testing and contact tracing, reduced class sizes and expanding and enforcing mandatory masking across the province. While Meili wouldn’t call for lock-downs on businesses in the province, he said that’s where we are headed if action isn’t taken.

Economy and Jobs Critic Aleana Young says she recognizes as a small business owner, the government needs to be proactive, instead of sitting back and waiting for things to get worse. She says every option needs to be on the table to support businesses, support jobs and keep the economy moving. Young says with Christmas coming, businesses are looking for some clarity and information on what thresholds look like. She adds that shutdowns happen very quickly but re-openings happen slowly.