NDP Leader Ryan Meili was in La Ronge with the majority of the NDP caucus. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Cumberland

NDP leader and caucus in La Ronge for fundraiser event

Sep 25, 2019 | 4:22 PM

A Cumberland NDP fundraiser for MLA Doyle Vermette at the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre this evening has attracted the majority of the NDP caucus.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili, along with fellow MLAs Carla Beck, Buckley Belanger, David Forbes, Warren McCall, Nicole Rancourt and Cathy Sproule, are all in town to support Vermette’s event. The caucus also took the time Wednesday to visit the La Ronge Health Centre, the Northern Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NITEP) and board members with the Northern Lights School Division.

“We all want to support Doyle for his event and it’s also a good chance for us to do some outreach and each connect in our own critic areas on what’s going on in the community,” Meili said. “Overall, it’s just a great opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of the North.”

During his visit to the health centre, Meili stated he was struck by the ongoing need for mental health and addiction services. He noted there are no significant in-patient supports beyond the detox unit. If anyone wants to be treatment for addictions, Meili said that means having to leave the region.

Meili also spoke about the continued need for a long-term care facility in La Ronge. He mentioned there are currently 65 people on a waiting list for 14 spots, which means there are many people in the tri-communities who are not getting the better care and support they need.

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“We just stopped by NITEP, which was really interesting to see,” Meili said. “It was just a couple years ago Scott Moe made the decision when he was minister of advanced education to shut down the Northern Teacher Education Program (NORTEP) and such a successful program. There have been teacher shortages as a result of that. NITEP is one part of the response, but it certainly isn’t enough to meet everything NORTEP was previously offering.”

At the fundraiser event tonight, which starts at 6 p.m., Meili will deliver a speech focusing on the work Vermette has done, the goals of the NDP and the shortcomings of the Sask. Party. He noted Vermette is such a good representative for the North because he never lets the caucus forget about his riding.

“This is such a beautiful area with great people, a great history and great wealth, but often that wealth isn’t returned,” Meili said. “We’ve seen wealth taken away from the North and often the people of the North not getting their fair share of that success. That’s a big part of what we want to see done is more attention to the North and investing in the people in our northern communities.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno