On Wednesday, the government of British Columbia announced a plan to invest $118-million to stabilize their health system. The Saskatchewan NDP is urging the Sask Party government to use windfall revenues to do the same. Official Opposition Leader Carla Beck says from the projected over $1-billion surplus at the end of the fiscal year, the government announced no plans to use some of that money to help the ongoing pressures in healthcare. She lists major hospitals at or over capacity all summer, emergency rooms being closed due to staffing shortages, and surgeries and obstetrical services being suspended due to position vacancies. Beck says there are currently 1,686 healthcare positions posted for hire.

When the first quarter budget report was released earlier this week, Finance Minister Donna Harpauer explained that they couldn’t invest in health care jobs with the resource revenue, because it’s not ongoing funding that will always be there, because the prices won’t always be high.

The NDP suggests some of the resource windfall could go towards recruitment incentives and signing bonuses, expanding and subsidizing healthcare education, and supporting clinics and primary care facilities with ever-increasing costs.