REGINA — Opposition New Democrats are back to accusing the Sask Party government of cronyism with board appointments at the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
NDP Health Critic Meara Conway accused the government Wednesday of having stacked the board and senior leadership of the Saskatchewan Health Authority with their political loyalists and political operatives.
The party issued a news release listing about a half-dozen Sask Party supporters now in roles on the board or in the leadership of the SHA. They noted Arlene Wiks, chair of the SHA board, had worked on the campaign of former Health Minister Paul Merriman and regularly donated to the Sask. Party going back to 2013; that vice-chair Tyler Bragg had worked on the campaign of the former Health Minister Everett Hindley; and that former press secretary for Scott Moe, Jim Billington, was brought on as an SHA vice president for a six figure payday.
“Our health-care system is bloated, top-heavy and disconnected from local communities because the Sask. Party is stacking its leadership with their political insiders,” said Conway in a statement.
“It should be frontline workers and health-care experts filling those senior positions, not the best buds of Moe and his health ministers.”
The Sask Party government has been no stranger to criticism from the NDP about partisan board appointments, with the Opposition attacking the government over various board appointments of Sask Party supporters and donors prior to last year’s election.
This new round of criticism comes soon after the launch of the NDP’s latest health-care consultation tour, where they are urging people to provide their feedback at YourCareYourSay.ca. In launching the tour this week, both Conway and Rural and Remote Health Critic Jared Clarke slammed the centralization of health care with the SHA.
In response to the latest round of attacks, the Sask Party government blasted the NDP and accused them of a smear job.
“The lost and reckless NDP claim they are listening to patients, but instead they are spending the second day of their latest round of health consultations attempting to smear the reputations of highly qualified and community-minded Saskatchewan people who serve on the SHA board and senior leadership team,” they said in a release.
Their statement added that these individuals are not secret or hidden, and can be found on the SHA website (here and here).
The province adds that the “government, along with our sector partners such as the SHA, are going to continue to stay focused on improving access and outcomes for patients.”
They pointed to over 100,000 surgeries in a single year in 2024-25, reducing the number of patients waiting more than 18-months for surgery by 33 per cent and the number of patients waiting more than 24-months by 71 per cent over the past year; and increasing numbers of doctors, nurses and high-priority health-care professionals.
“While the NDP focus on running down our health-care system and insulting the people working in it, our government is focused on delivering results for Saskatchewan families,” their statement read.
