REGINA – Problems in health care continued to be the theme for the NDP this week as they released new information painting a dim picture on the front lines.

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck stood not far from Pasqua Hospital in Regina and revealed details from an internal briefing note from Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union. 

That report painted a dim picture about the state of cancer care in the province. According to the NDP’s news release, that briefing note pointed to overwhelming staff shortages, overcrowding in health care facilities, and worker burnout.

One nurse was quoted in the memo as stating “patients have died before even being seen because physicians couldn’t physically take any more on in their day,”

The NDP also noted that the SGEU met Everett Hindley on Sept. 10, and that SGEU had provided the briefing note in a follow-up Sept. 20. 

“Now you’d think if you were in government, and you knew this was going on, that you would understand the urgency and you would work quickly to fix it,” Beck said.

“But no. Scott Moe’s Minister of Health saw this memo. And for six years before that, the Sask Party heard the alarm bells from nurses on the floor. He heard it from doctors. He heard it from healthcare workers. And he heard it from patients. And they did nothing to fix it. Nothing. Things have actually gotten worse.”

She characterized cancer care in the province as “a disaster that Scott Moe and the Sask Party have created. It’s Scott Moe and the Sask Party who must answer to the families who lost their loved ones before they ever got the care that they needed.”

Beck reiterated the NDP’s plan to spend over $1 billion on health care. “No more waste. No more corruption. No more spending on insider deals while Saskatchewan people are left to suffer. No more chaos in healthcare from Scott Moe and the Sask Party.”

At the Regina media event Beck was joined by Nadine Baker, who told reporters she is at high risk for breast cancer. She said it took almost a year to get booked for a diagnostic mammogram.

“The regular breast screening program doesn’t look at you once you have symptoms. So when they called me, they told me this January, they didn’t have an appointment for me. That was 45 weeks after the referral,” Baker said.

“Instead, they asked if I would possibly go out of province and I agreed. I wholeheartedly agreed. But at that point, of course, I looked for help. Wait times like that are not acceptable to me. I could have died while I waited. I could have died without even being diagnosed.”

The NDP’s focus on cancer came just one day after the Sask Party made their own campaign announcement about cancer prevention. 

In Regina on Monday, Scott Moe had detailed plans for women to receive a self-sampling kit in the mail to screen for human papillomavirus, the virus that is the leading cause of cervical cancer. At that media availability Moe stood alongside Sask Party candidates and cancer survivors Laura Ross, seeking re-election in Regina Rochdale, and Sarah Wright who is running against Beck in Regina Lakeview.

In other news, Beck was also asked at her media availability about a Sask Party news release sent out that morning which pulled out old quotes of NDP candidates expressing support of higher taxes. They pointed to a post on X by Hugh Gordon, NDP candidate for Saskatoon Silverspring, portraying him as not caring if tax policies chase people away: “Let them leave. The markets they leave behind will still be profitable for someone else who’s willing to pay a little more tax.”

They quoted Aleana Young as posting: “Taxes aren’t leading to income insecurity. So, instead of giving me an $850 tax cut, I’d rather contribute another $850…” Nicole Sarauer was also quoted posting on X: “Would you be willing to pay more taxes for a universal justice system similar to our health care system?” 

“You know, we see increasingly tone-deaf and out-of-touch desperate actions on the part of the Sask Party in this election,” replied Beck.

“I think it’s in contrast to the things that we’re talking about today. We’re talking about the fact that people are dying waiting for healthcare in this province. We’re talking about the need to respect our healthcare… I know what we’re focused on. And I know that people are looking for change.”