Latest news with #JeremyCockrill
CTV News
6 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Sask. adding 77 permanent positions to rural hospitals
WATCH: As Wayne Mantyka tells us, help is on the way for those working in rural hospitals across Saskatchewan. The province says help is on the way for rural hospitals across Saskatchewan, with 77 full-time positions being created across 30 communities. The province hopes it will help stabilize the provision of emergency and other services. 'I am pleased that we have the chance to celebrate the ongoing efforts to reduce service disruptions in rural and northern communities and today I am very pleased to announce 77 new and enhanced permanent full-time positions to 30 different rural and northern communities,' Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said on Wednesday. Most of the 77 positions are currently being filled by part-time and temporary staff, but it's difficult to retain workers without offering full-time job stability. 'Adding more full-time roles will help attract more professionals, support existing employees by providing better staffing coverage, improve team cohesiveness and provide a safer work environment for workers and providers,' Cockrill said. Cockrill made the announcement in Moose Jaw, where seven permanent nursing jobs will be added. Other rural communities like Kipling, southeast of Regina, will gain two permanent nursing positions. The Opposition NDP is questioning how the positions will be filled. 'You know as of this morning according to publicly available data, we have 1,647 vacant health care positions in the province and so why should people believe that [with] these 77 the Sask. Party will be able to fill whereas the previous 1,647 they could not,' NDP MLA Keith Jorgenson said. The Saskatchewan Health Authority does not know how long it will take to fill the 77 permanent positions but with any of the spots already filled by parttime and temporary workers, convincing them to go full-time could make the job easier.
Global News
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Global News
University of Saskatchewan's Student Union calls for repeal on Bill 137
In October of 2023, the government of Saskatchewan passed Bill 137, otherwise known as 'The Parent's Bill of Rights'. The law prevents children under the age of 16 from changing their names or pronouns at school without a parent's consent. The bill also allows parents to prohibit their children from receiving sexual education at school. When the bill first passed, education minister Jeremy Cockrill shared in a statement that parents have the right to know what is being taught at their child's school. 'The Parents' Bill of Rights' is an inclusionary policy that ensures that parents are at the forefront of every important decision in their child's life.' said Cockrill. Now, almost two years later, the University of Saskatchewan Student Union (USSU) has used their platform to bring awareness to this bill once again. The USSU, alongside the University's Pride Centre and Women's Centre, wrote a letter explaining why Bill 137 is harmful for students. Story continues below advertisement 'Bill 137 continues to directly harm and enact violence on youth whose understandings of self do not conform to perspective colonial binaries of gender identity and gender expression.' the letter states. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The letter also shares why access to sexual education is an important resource for students to have. 'According to the Executive Director of Sexual Assault Services of Saskatchewan (SASS), Saskatchewan has the second-highest rate of sexual violence amongst all other Canadian provinces. Moreover, Saskatchewan is consistently reported to have one of the highest provincial increases in HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.' Access to the USSU's full letter can be found on their Instagram page. USSU Pride Centre coordinator Wren Dahl says they see the effect the bill has had on students who were in school when the bill passed. They shared that once at the University of Saskatchewan, those students will be able to live freely and have safe spaces and support on campus. 'No matter what their high school experience was or will be, this will be a safe space that champions those rights.' shares Dahl. In a statement made to Global News, the Saskatchewan provincial government says it maintains that parents and guardians have a key role in protecting and supporting their children as they grow and develop. Story continues below advertisement 'The Parent's Bill of Rights introduced amendments to The Education Act, 1995, including the provision that students under the age of 16 receive parental or guardian consent if they want teachers and staff to use a gender-related preferred name or gender identity at school,' the statement reads. 'If it is reasonably expected that obtaining parental consent is likely to result in harm to the student, schools must acquire the appropriate professional resources to support and assist the student in developing a plan to address the student's request with their parent(s) or guardian(s). 'Requiring parental consent for students under 16 years of age and ensuring schools provide the resources necessary to safely receive that consent will help ensure the student is adequately supported both in the school and at their home.' The Government of Saskatchewan used the notwithstanding clause to pass the law, but the court of appeal is still considering whether it violates Charter rights.
CTV News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Sask. government, Battlefords mayors pen letter to feds, demanding bail reform
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks during a media event to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Saskatoon on Sunday, June 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards The Government of Saskatchewan, in addition to the mayors of The Battlefords, have penned a letter to the federal government, advocating for changes to the Criminal Code of Canada – including bail reform. 'We see the same repeat offenders committing violent crimes in our community, and obviously that has an effect on how people in our community feel about safety in the Battlefords,' Minister of Health and Sask. Party MLA for The Battlefords Jeremy Cockrill told reporters Wednesday. 'It's also important that if you commit a criminal act, that you have pay the consequences for that act.' Members of the provincial government, in addition to North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin and Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie signed the letter addressed to federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser. 'In order to use our resources more effectively, we really want those violent repeat offenders dealt with and taken off of our streets and out of our communities,' Mayor Hawtin said. 'We're not asking for more people in prison. We're asking for the right people to be in prison.' Both mayors spoke about the negative stigma their communities have had to endure due to the same group of repeat offenders. 'We have this stigma because of a few individuals in our community that continue to commit these crimes, giving us a bad reputation,' Mayor Leslie explained. 'Part of this bail reform will help us change that image of The Battlefords and hopefully bring more people to our wonderful community.' In addition to bail reform, Premier Scott Moe said the province is requesting strengthened penalties for those involved in drug trafficking. 'There's no place for them here,' he told reporters, referring to traffickers. 'Our intent is to eradicate crystal meth and to eradicate fentanyl from communities in this province and we're going to do our level best.' Provincial officials also spoke extensively on its efforts in providing recovery supports to those who have fallen into a life of addiction – referring to funding for recovery beds and its planned expansion of urgent care centres. -More details to come…
CTV News
07-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Review of workplace culture at Regina hospitals complete, after allegations of ‘racism and ‘discriminatory leadership'
An external review of the workplace culture at Regina-area hospitals is now complete. The review followed allegations of racism, misconduct, and a lack of professionalism at Regina's General Hospital (RGH). The province says the review was conducted by 'two highly respected medical leaders' from Ontario and Nova Scotia and includes 14 recommendations for the Ministry of Health, Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) and the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine. To make the improvements the province says the SHA and SMA will be holding engagement sessions with Regina hospital physicians before finalizing an action plan. Complaints over the work environment at RGH first came to light in November 2023 – when several doctors, who received their education and training in Africa and Asia, filed a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission – claiming white physicians were being given preferential treatment. The province says it is also taking immediate actions to address some of the 14 recommendations from the review. That includes restructuring the SHA's Senior Physician Leadership structure that was announced on June 12, working collaboratively with the SMA to finalize practitioner staff bylaws and launching the SHA's anti-racism strategy. Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said in the release that he has faith that the review's recommendations will benefit both doctors and patients. That sentiment was echoed by both SHA CEO Andrew Will and SMA President Dr. Pamela Arnold. 'This review provides an opportunity to reset and build stronger relationships throughout the health system in Regina,' Arnold said. 'It will be critical to involve and engage physicians early and often to help build the trust necessary to do this very important work,' Arnold said. The province says longer-term implementation of actions to address the 14 recommendations will be rolled out over the next six to 12 months. The full review can be read here. -More details to come… -With files from David Prisciak and Wayne Mantyka
CBC
12-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Sask. surgical wait times improve, but number of people on waitlist grows
Social Sharing The number of people in Saskatchewan waiting longer than two years for surgery has been "nearly eliminated," according to Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill, but the waitlist for surgeries has increased. The province has been focusing on long-waiting patients, Cockrill said, with the number of people waiting over one year for surgery also down over 24 per cent. The government released numbers for surgical wait times between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, on Wednesday. They showed that 92 per cent of people received surgery in under eight months during that period. The target was 90 per cent, Cockrill said. "We exceeded that goal." Cockrill attributed the progress to recent spending on the health-care system. In March, Saskatchewan committed $15.1 million in its 2025-2026 budget to helping reduce wait times for patients. The province has previously struggled with long surgical wait times, especially for knee and hip replacement surgeries. Saskatchewan had the longest wait times in Canada for those procedures in 2023. Province performs record number of surgeries The province said it performed more than 100,000 surgeries in a fiscal year for the first time, but a change in how they are counted contributed to that increase. "This year's surgical reporting includes procedures performed outside of traditional operating rooms," Cockrill said, adding that procedures done in specialized treatment spaces like cardiac cath laboratories and interventional radiology suites are now counted as surgery, unlike in previous years. The province made the change after the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), a national not-for-profit health organization, started counting those types of procedures as surgery, Cockrill said. "Including these types of procedures in our count gives a more accurate picture of the full scope of surgical care provided across the province," he said. In a statement Wednesday, the Opposition NDP highlighted the change in how procedures are counted. "We're not surprised that the figures are inflated," the NDP statement said. Total number of people on wait list higher than last year The Opposition also pointed to the fact that the number of people waiting for surgery has increased in the province. While surgical wait times in Saskatchewan are improving and the government is achieving its targets, 30,308 people are still waiting for surgery in the province as of March. According to the government, Saskatchewan's wait list has increased by "about 2,236 cases since March 31, 2024." "Today is about progress, but it's also about perspective. We continue in the surgical program to see the impacts of the pandemic slowdowns, which dramatically increased surgical wait times and wait lists," said Dr. Michael Kelly, the Saskatchewan Health Authority's provincial head of surgery.
