The Saskatchewan Legislature may be in summer recess, but New Democrat MLAs are keeping busy, said party leader Dwain Lingenfelter who stopped in the city Monday.
Lingenfelter said both he, and most NDP MLAs are visiting communities across the province for what he termed "a post-session' follow-up on issues of concern to people.
Lingenfelter said while there are a number of issues people want to talk about; the sale of wildlife land, the end to SCN and others, two stand out to top the list; health care and the cost of living.
When it comes to the cost of living, Lingenfelter said people on fixed incomes, or those having received only modest wage increases are finding it difficult to keep up.
He said paying increases in rent, the power bill, or covering costs such as dental care are becoming an issue for many families.
In the case of dental costs Lingenfelter noted "forty per cent of Saskatchewan don't have a dental plan," and with a filling costing as much as $250, that is an issue for families.
In terms of health care Lingenfelter said the two issues "especially in rural Saskatchewan are the doctor shortage and waiting lists." He added the two seem to be a sharper focus for people because the Saskatchewan Party made promises to address both during the last election.
As it stands today many communities are taking on the issue of recruiting doctors directly, and Lingenfelter said that is clearly not the role for municipal government.
"What's to say if you give a signing bonus they're going to stay more than a few months?" he asked.
Lingenfelter said the role of recruiting doctors should reside with the province.
"There needs to be a team of professionals in the Department of Health whose role in life is recruiting and retaining doctors," said Lingenfelter.
Lingenfelter said recruiting enough doctors is ultimately a huge step in reducing wait times for medical procedures too, since doctors must be in place to carry out the procedures.
Another concern for people is how the province is running its finances, said Lingenfelter,
"They are wondering why we are running a deficit when the economy is going pretty good," he said. He said people are concerned "they can't balance their books when the economy is good."
