The Battlefords figured prominently Monday in remarks by members of the legislature in response to the Speech from the Throne.
Battlefords MLA Herb Cox was among several government MLAs voicing support for the Speech from the Throne, pointing to initiatives in his area.
Here is a portion of his remarks recorded in Hansard.
Mr. Cox: — … Something of course that is very significant in The Battlefords, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is our new Sask Hospital North Battleford. It’s now in readiness for the grand opening. And this facility is something that had been needed replaced for many, many years and our government finally took the initiative to make it happen. It’s been my absolute pleasure, Mr. Deputy Speaker, to be along at various steps of the development of this new facility in The Battlefords.
… Another greatly needed improvement that is now a reality is our two sets of turning lanes on Highway 4 North between North Battleford and Cochin, something that myself and my colleague from Cut Knife-Turtleford have advocated for. And that’s part of our nearly $8.4 billion highway investments provincially that’s rebuilt or replaced nearly 13 000 kilometres of highways over our time in government.
You know, I used to hear, when we talked to people who commute back and forth from the lake area or come in from the northern part of Saskatchewan, Highway 4 is definitely a main artery serving the North on our side of the province. They now talk about not what a terrible commute it was, but how safe they feel and how relaxed they are travelling on that highway because they can now use passing lanes to reduce the lines of traffic that were always on there.
… I am very pleased that North Battleford will be one of the centres that will see improved access to mental health services, as crisis teams that pairs a police officer with a mental health professional will be operational this winter. In addition, to help find that the root causes of some of our crimes, they can definitely help in those regards. Another initiative in my community will be a pilot program to engage youth in mental health promotion in schools.
Mr. Speaker, a very exciting program announced in this speech was the development of a multidisciplinary community recovery team in eight communities throughout our province. And I’m happy to say that one of those locations will be in The Battlefords. These teams will be made up of 40 new full-time employees, and their teams will provide support for individuals with serious and persisting mental illness. These teams will provide expertise from several specialists such as occupational therapists, peer support specialists, addiction counsellors, nurses, mental health therapists, psychologists, continuing care aids, mental health aids, mental health workers. These teams will certainly be a great addition to supports already available and will provide new multidisciplinary support to those with mental illness.
It was not just Cox who mentioned North Battleford Monday. The member for Cannington, Dan D’Autremont, proceeded to smack down the opposition New Democrats for failing to maintain the old Saskatchewan Hospital when they were in power.
Mr. D’Autremont: —When I became the Minister of Government Services at the end of 2007, I asked my ministry, what is the worst government building in the government’s fleet of buildings? And their response was, the North Battleford hospital. Well, Mr. Speaker, the members opposite, including three of the members that are sitting there today — the member for Athabasca, the member for Saskatoon Centre, the member for Regina Elphinstone — were members of the cabinet, Mr. Speaker, that failed to maintain the North Battleford hospital such that it was the worst building in the government fleet.
Yes, the member opposite is saying, yes, we left you a billion dollars. But you certainly never put it into maintaining the government buildings across the province that we have had to step forward with since 2011. The North Battleford hospital is being renewed. A new hospital is being built there, Mr. Speaker, and will be opening next year — a building that the members opposite completely ignored, Mr. Speaker.
With all the recent talk about crime and drugs, the topic was bound to come up in the legislature. Newly-elected Yens Pedersen of Regina Northeast, who grew up in the Cut Knife area, roasted the government in Question Period for not doing enough in rural areas.
Mr. Pedersen: — …We know that this government isn’t nearly doing enough to address the crystal meth crisis that fuels property crime.
Without addressing the root causes of rural crime, there won’t be any meaningful reduction in the crime and violence taking place in rural communities. Does the government recognize that people struggling with addictions to crystal meth and other illicit drugs are a key driver of crime in rural communities? And what is the minister going to do to improve access to addiction services in rural areas and reduce crime?
The Speaker: —I recognize the Minister of Health.
Hon. Mr. Reiter: —Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the member for, I believe, his first question in the House. Mr. Speaker, we take this issue very seriously: crystal meth, the opioid crisis. It is a root cause of so much of the crime we see, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that we need to address this through the health care system, Mr. Speaker. We’re doing a number of things. We’re in the process of finalizing a bilateral agreement for the federal government’s emergency opioid treatment fund, Mr. Speaker. We look forward to that signing, coming hopefully soon.
Mr. Speaker, the province spends a great deal, an amount of money — I think it’s close to $50 million — on addiction services, which is close to a 50 per cent increase since 2007. Mr. Speaker, we’ve increased the number of addictions beds since 2007 by 31 per cent…
It was Saskatoon Fairview MLA Vicki Mowat who then took her turn to hammer Reiter on the issue.
Ms. Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, crystal meth is not an opioid. Addictions to crystal meth and other illicit drugs aren’t just fuelling rural crime challenges across the province. The crisis has gripped our major urban centres as well.
Police chiefs spoke out about the meth crisis this week, with a representative from the Saskatoon Police drug enforcement team calling it an epidemic… Saskatchewan has been asleep at the wheel in dealing with this crisis, and Saskatchewan people are falling through the cracks. When will we see a meaningful strategy, including necessary investments, to get this crisis under control?
The Speaker: —I recognize the Minister of Health.
Hon. Mr. Reiter: —Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I was speaking to the opioids, I was talking about the pending agreement with the federal government on their opioid funding. Our officials have asked federal officials to include crystal meth in that, and the federal officials have agreed, Mr. Speaker.
