The writ for the provincial election is set to drop any day now, with Oct. 1 the final day possible to meet the minimum 27-day period as outlined by the Election Act.
Leaves are changing, the temperature is set to dip, and by early next week — Tuesday at the latest — Saskatchewan’s 2024 general election will officially be underway.
Regardless of when it drops, the election will be held on Oct. 28.
In the second instalment of our new weekly roundup, Race to the Writ, here are a few recent pre-election announcements and developments that may have flown under the radar.
Government Announcements
Two announcements came Thursday as the governing Sask. Party unveiled enhancements to maternal mental-health supports as well as opening the doors to Saskatchewan’s first Integrated Youth Services (IYS) hub in Humboldt.
According to the province, $280,000 is en route to the University of Regina’s online therapy unit “to create the Well-Being for Expecting and New Mothers Course” while “a Non-Birthing Parents Resource will also be developed for partners of those who have had babies.”
The first program launches at the end of March 2025, with the other expected in 2026.
As part of the announcement, the province also boosted funding for the 811 HealthLine by $3 million. Some of that money “will support new nurse and counsellor positions for mental health, addictions and maternal mental health calls.”
The IYS hub offers supports to people aged 12 to 25 and their caregivers. According to a government press release, the hub will house mental health and addictions services as well as physical health services.
Operated by the John Howard Society of Saskatchewan, it also offers peer assistance to young people through “education, employment and training supports; cultural and traditional supports; and social and community supports.” The John Howard Society is to run hubs around Saskatchewan with “$3.4 million in funding from the Government of Saskatchewan for development and operations.”
Meanwhile, as farmers continue to put grain in the bins, Saskatchewan has had three agriculture export commodities cross the billion-dollar threshold.
“Non-durum wheat exports are at $1.7 billion for the current year, canola seed is at $1.3 billion and canola oil at $1.1 billion,” read a release from the government, touting growth in the agricultural sector.
NDP Announcements
The party’s Regina-Wascana Plains candidate, Brent Blakley, spoke outside the school describing enrolment conditions that saw students use the teachers lounge and a dance studio in lieu of classrooms.
According to Regina Public Schools (RPS), Jack MacKenzie’s capacity is set at 490 despite having 617 students currently enrolled. A representative from RPS said while the school is above that threshold, it is still adhering to things like the fire code, and added that two portables should be operational by January 2025.
Blakley touched on NDP Leader Carla Beck’s recent announcement that the party would spend an additional “$2 billion in education over the next four years.”
Beck also spoke to the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce this week, with an emphasis on distancing herself and the party from what she described as “myths being spread by the negative campaigning” of the Saskatchewan Party and Scott Moe.
In her address, which included a question-and-answer period, the NDP leader said while she has announced some $3-billion worth of plans and promises, she also intends to balance the budget if elected to form government. In addition to $2 billion in additional dollars for education, Beck also announced a plan for another $1.1 billion over four years to be directed into the health-care sector.
Beck met with Kayla Deics and her partner Logan Seidlik on Friday to speak about their experience navigating the health-care system in Saskatchewan after Deics’ breast cancer diagnosis.
Seidlik recounted efforts to be “taken seriously” after the diagnosis and having to travel to Moose Jaw twice and then Calgary for a biopsy. He said it was frustrating to travel for care that he expected would be available in their own city.
Recovering from a biopsy in Calgary was particularly difficult and expensive, Seidlik added, noting it was tough to manage the entire situation while they were “far away from friends and family.”
“When this is all said and done, Kayla won’t be calling herself a breast cancer survivor,” he said. “She will be calling herself a Saskatchewan health-care survivor.”
Beck committed on Friday to “ramping up” surgeries and diagnostic scans in the province as part of her health-care platform.