Union leader says Sask. death toll is direct result of 'lack of action' from premier

The President of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour says Premier Scott Moe should spend more time uniting the province, not dividing it.

SFL President Lori Johb and others are questioning Moe's attitude toward people who want more COVID-19 restrictions.

"It's easy for some to stand up and say, 'We need to lock everything down,' when they have the opportunity to work from home. The fact of the matter is thousands of people in Saskatchewan do not have that opportunity," Moe said in an online speech this week to Municipalities of Saskatchewan delegates Monday.

Johb said that's clearly a false statement.

She says many of those calling for action are front-line health-care and care home workers. They don't work from home. They're simply overwhelmed by the highest COVID-19 case rates and death rates in Canada.

"The numbers of people dying and becoming sick every day from COVID-19 are a direct reflection on the lack of action from our provincial government," Johb said.

Johb pointed to a U of S survey showing the vast majority of Saskatchewan residents support more government action.

Johb and others said the evidence is clear — from Australia to Manitoba, decisive action can slow the spread and get the economy back to normal sooner.

"It's interesting that the premier and the provincial government don't seem to want to look at the facts," Johb said.

She said affected workers need better support programs. The economic recovery would also be stronger and faster with measures such as paid sick leave and better child care.

Calls for restrictions

The calls for more restrictions began in November. Up to that point, only 32 people had died. The death toll has now grown to more than 300.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili was one of those demanding more government action in November, a point he reiterated this week.

"Over 400 doctors signed a letter calling for a circuit-breaker [lockdown]. Nurses, pharmacists, other front-line health-care workers all made the same call. These aren't exactly people who work from home. These are the people on the front lines taking care of the sick protecting us all," Meili said.

Saskatoon intensive care and trauma specialist Dr. Hassan Masri agreed the focus should be on uniting against the virus.

"I'd like to give the Premier the benefit of the doubt that he didn't mean to say it the way he did," Masri said.

"We don't want this to turn into a battle between this group of people and this other group."

Masri said no one wants a lockdown, but it's clear some sort of additional "bold, aggressive and science-based" action is needed. Temporarily banning unmasked, indoor dining, and drinking at bars and restaurants would be an obvious start, he said.

Tuesday, the provincial government reported the lowest single day case count in three months, but some wonder if the record cold temperatures prevented some people from going for tests.