The NDP is worried politics has played a role in the creation and operation of the new crystal meth rehabilitation centre at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan.
Opposition leader Ryan Meili said during Wednesday question period that former Saskatchewan premier Grant Devine sent an email about the project several months ago. The email spoke of a proposal for for-profit addictions treatment services as a “well-documented model to Premier Moe in the new year.”
Now, Meili said the project is nearing reality six months later with a commitment of $1.4 million to Cedars, the addictions treatment business involved in the project with St. Joseph’s, and is set to open by September.
“There are steps in there that the government could certainly provide for us, and we would like them to do that, but there’s a lot to answer for,” suggested Meili.
The NDP noted the email from Devine also indicated the project as a “functional and very profitable business model.” Meili said the problem is that Devine wants to give public dollars to a business when the deal was not tendered to other organizations.
“The former leader of the premier’s party comes forward and has a proposal that he’s part of, and it makes its way to the premier’s desk,” mentioned Meili.
“Suddenly the premier’s in Estevan touring, there’s $1.4 million going to a for-profit company, when all those other requests and other needs have gone unheard.”
Health minister Jim Reiter said St. Joseph’s will operate the facility as it did before the NDP closed it in the 1990s.
He said he and his officials didn’t know about it until Tuesday night when it was brought up during estimates. Now he wants to get to the bottom of the situation.
“I am going to let officials do it and have them get back to me with what they find,” he shared. “Just because of insinuation and innuendo, I’m not going to deviate from normal procedure.”
Reiter said there was no politics involved in the decision to set-up the rehab centre and that the NDP is on another smear campaign.
(With files from Moises Canales)