Local leaders and healthcare workers are feeling left out of health care decisions. That from the provincial NDP, two weeks into their Health Solutions Tour. Health Critic Vicki Mowat is calling on the government to bring back the Community Health Advisory Networks that were dismantled when the health regions amalgamated into the single Saskatchewan Health Authority. She says every region has its own specific needs and community leaders know what they are, so it’s time to bring those voices back to the table. “Local leaders, health care workers do not feel they are being respected by this government, do not feel they are being listened to by this government, and in many cases,the local leaders have already come together and have some really good solutions in place and just aren’t being provided with the ear of the government to provide those solutions.”

Critic for Rural and Remote Health, Matt Love, notes that in 2016, prior to the amalgamation, the Saskatchewan Advisory Panel on Health System Structure Report recommended these networks be strengthened instead of eliminated. As well, in 2020, the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association adopted a resolution calling for the Health Minister to ensure direct municipal input and involvement in the health system by bringing the Community Health Advisory Networks back.