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NDP questions government contract with Harper firm

The NDP’s economy critic has questions about another provincial government contract.

In Question Period on Monday, Aleana Young asked the Premier about the government’s $240,000/year contract with Harper & Associates - a firm lead by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Young said the Opposition had asked for details on the contract, including exactly what services Harper & Associates are providing to the province, through a Freedom of Information (FOIP) request, but the version they received in return had been heavily redacted.

In a statement late Monday, Trade & Export Development minister Jeremy Harrison said, “Harper & Associates provides advice to the Government of Saskatchewan on energy, resources, and agriculture among other industries in key global markets.”

Mr. Harper was in Regina this week, appearing on a panel alongside Harrison and Premier Moe at Monday’s Food, Fuel, and Fertilizer conference, hosted by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce.

(Regina Leader-Post)

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Sask. touts record number of surgeries completed last year

The Saskatchewan government announced a record-breaking number of surgeries performed in Saskatchewan in 2023-2024. Over 95,000 surgeries were completed in the last fiscal year, the highest annual volume ever recorded.

Minister of Health Everett Hindley thanked the surgical teams for their work saying, “Our surgical teams are making significant strides in ensuring patients receive timely surgical procedures. Our government continues to make record investments in human resources to increase capacity in our surgical systems and address wait times.”

A particular emphasis was placed on knee and hip replacements, which saw an increase in more than 1,000 year over year.

In Question Period on Tuesday, the NDP continued to raise concerns over an out-of-province Sask. Party donor in Calgary receive a sole-sourced contract to provide these services, and said the clinic had only provided 90 surgeries. The costs per service were redacted.

In response, the province defended its decision, saying this is one way that the province has been able to reduce wait times for people here at home.

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Far-right fight? Buffalo leader goes after Wilson

Buffalo Party leader Phil Zajac of Estevan has taken to Twitter to take on Sask. United leader Nadine Wilson for not voting on the NDP’s proposed gas tax pause motion last week. The motion was handily defeated with 9 votes in favour compared to the 31 government votes against.

In the 2020 election, the Buffalo Party placed a distant third overall having only run 17 candidates. The right-wing party even placed second in places like Cannington and Estevan with over 20% of the vote. More recently, the Saskatchewan United Party placed second in the Lumsden-Morse by-election. Both parties are fighting for votes to the right of the governing Sask. Party.

Despite a lot of social media noise, to date, neither party has publicly nominated more than a handful of candidates combined. Both parties will likely be competing for rural votes in some ridings this fall.

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More news and info

• The lone road into Cumberland House is so bad some locals prefer driving in the ditch (CTV Saskatoon)

• Families decry lack of help for adults with intellectual disabilities in Sask. (CKOM)

• We are urban. SUMA represents over 80% of Saskatchewan residents —cities, towns, villages, resort villages, and northern municipalities—that come together as one urban voice. To learn more visit www.suma.org.*

• Crescent Point Energy selling $600 million of assets to Saturn Oil and Gas (SaskToday)

• Saskatoon MP Brad Redekopp, Star Phoenix columnist have wacko exchange on Twitter

_{*Sponsored content from Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA).}

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