MLA candidate Lyle Whitefish, left, poses for a picture with Nicole Rancourt, and Troy Parenteau, right. NDP party leader Ryan Meili, second from right.(Dawson Thompson/paNOW Staff)

By Dawson Thompson

Riverbank Rally

Ryan Meili hosts rally in P.A. to kick off election canvassing

Sep 23, 2020 | 12:45 PM

Ryan Meili, the Saskatchewan New Democrat party leader stopped in Prince Albert late Tuesday to kick off canvassing ahead of the October provincial election.

Meili spoke to a pumped-up crowd of about 20 volunteers along the riverbank.

Incumbent NDP MLA for Prince Albert Northcote, Nicole Rancourt was also on scene along with other NDP candidates: Troy Parenteau (Prince Albert Carlton) and Lyle Whitefish, (Saskatchewan Rivers).

Meili made promises to invest in Saskatchewan first.

Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili speaks to a crowd of canvessers on the riverbank. (Dawson Thompson/paNOW Staff)

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“Making sure that when we’re building our roads, our hospitals, and how about a new bridge. When we build that bridge, we build it with our dollars, our workers, and our companies,” Meili said. “It will be our folks who are back on the job, and that they’re getting paid a decent wage. Not the lowest minimum wage in the entire country.”

The local candidates said they were eager to kick off campaigning despite the obvious challenges of the COVID pandemic.

“I’m really excited about this election,” Rancourt told paNOW. “I am looking forward to building relationships with voters in a different front than I might have in a traditional campaign.”

“The government made some decisions around the opening of the schools and Covid and what I’m hearing on the doorstep is a lot of teachers are kind of upset about the choices the government made,” Parenteau added. “They came up with a plan but it was really a no plan. So on the doorstep I’m hearing some things related to Covid that are good for us and maybe not so good for the Sask Party and Scott Moe.”

“It sounds very promising,” Whitefish said. “I am excited again to be running for the NDP with Sask Rivers.”

One of the topics Meili talked about at the rally was the current health care system under the Sask Party.

Recently, Meili has been critical of MRI wait times, calling the one-for-one system a “failed experiment” and believes changes need to be made.

“This is what health care has come to in Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan. The wealthy, those who can pay get care right away, while those who can’t have to wait in pain,” Meili said.

Meili told paNOW that this election will be a lot more than a simple vote regarding the handling of COVID.

“Our vision, our plan is one of investing in people,” said Meili. “Investing in health, investing in education, keeping good jobs here in the province and building people up at a time where it is so important to help people get through a difficult time and get our economy moving again. That is the choice: cuts, and privatization, or investing in the people of this province.”

Wrapping up the rally, Meili spelled out the NDP’s top primary issues they will focus on.

“One is healthcare, people are waiting too long in emergency rooms, for mental health care, for surgeries, and imaging. We need to invest to make sure people get the care they need,” Meili said. “The second is education. Class sizes have grown, they are more complex, they are more challenging. We need to invest to support teachers so kids can get the best chance they can to succeed.

Then, we look at jobs. We want to make sure we are building with our workers and that is our Sask First promise when it comes to how we do public projects.”

Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili fronted the rally to kick off election canvassing in Prince Albert. (Dawson Thompson/paNOW Staff)

The provincial election takes place on Oct. 26.

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Dawson.thompson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: dawsonthompson8