NDP leader and Moose Jaw native Ryan Meili was joined by members of the party -- including Melissa Patterson and Kyle Lichtenwald, who both represented the party locally in the past election -- for a door-knocking and petitioning tour of the city on Saturday afternoon. The event was part of the NDP’s Day of Action in Saskatchewan.
“We had an election in 2020 and that’s passed, but there will be another one and people will have another chance to make a change,” Meili said of the overall goal of the day.
“We’re going to be asking a lot of questions. We’re a long way from the next election, but we’re going to ask what people are dealing with. We’ve been through a very challenging time and folks in Moose Jaw stepped up incredibly to keep each other safe and help each other out. But folks are struggling. They’re struggling to pay their bills or to get back to work, or they’re dealing with the loss of a loved one or health issues themselves… In this period, early on in the cycle before the next election, it’s our job to gather those stories and their ideas.”
The tour was one of several similar events in the province, which included petitions for NDP goals such as fixing the crisis in our classrooms, addressing the issues in long-term care, and ensuring fair and equitable pay for all of Saskatchewan's workers.
Meili pointed to how the pandemic progressed in Saskatchewan as another major issue of conversation and focus for the NDP, with the post-election COVID-19 situation of particular concern.
“It was a challenging time during COVID-19 to try and sell change, we’ve been through so much crisis,” Meili said. “At that time, things were going pretty well with COVID in Saskatchewan so it was hard to tell people it was time for a big change. In the two months leading up to the election, two people had died from COVID-19. Since then, starting after the election, the second and third waves hit and hundreds died. And Scott Moe and the Sask Party did not do the work to protect people, with seniors dying in long-term care and so many people getting sick.”
That has led Meili and his fellow party members to believe many in the province are having second thoughts about the previous election.
“I think a lot of people in Saskatchewan are thinking ‘maybe we shouldn’t have given Scott Moe so much trust after all’,” Meili said. “So going into the election, we’re going to be looking at their record and their failures as well as showing the Sask NDP is focussed on the future and the Sask Party is carrying all the baggage of their past and they’re stuck in the past.”
Using the pandemic as a launching point for province-wide improvement will of prime focus.
“We’re here to work alongside Saskatchewan people to see what we did we learn from COVID-19, what did it show us, and what do we have to do different to have the kind of future Saskatchewan people want and deserve,” Meili said.
Meili was also impressed to see Patterson and Lichtenwald back in action, even after their tough losses in 2020.
“It’s really nice to see folks as supportive as they are,” he said. “Melissa and Kyle, sometimes people could be disappointed, they didn’t get across the line and they’re not MLAs, but they aren’t discouraged and they’re continuing to work to take a great run at these seats in 2024.”
