Swift Current MLA Everett Hindley has offered his insights into claims from an NDP opposition member on Saskatchewan's healthcare.
Hindley has taken issue with some of the remarks made by MLA Meara Conway, the Shadow Minister for Rural and Remote Health, during her stop in Swift Current on Thursday. He previously served as the Minister for Rural and Remote Health from 2020 to 2023, then served as the Minister of Health from 2023 until 2025, where after the provincial election he was made the Minister for Education.
Hindley did acknowledge that there are issues in the current healthcare system. Even since he has moved on from both his healthcare minister positions, he is certain that certain issues with staffing, retention, and rural centres do persist.
In response to Conway highlighting those issues, he pointed to some of the successes the province has had in healthcare.
"We know there are some challenges in hiring across the province," said Hindley. "Which is why, over two years ago now, we came out with a very ambitious health human resources action plan."
The Action Plan to Recruit, Train, Incentivize and Retain Health Professionals was introduced in the fall of 2022. It has produced some 1,800 nursing graduates and brought around 400 health professionals from abroad, creating 250 full-time positions.
"I would argue that we have made some significant steps as a result of that, with new hires being made right across the province as a result of some of these incentives," said Hindley.
Hindley went on to confirm that hiring incentives in rural and remote locations through the promise of training access have also yielded results, claiming that in Swift Current ten positions had been filled through them.
"I'm not saying there aren't challenges facing our healthcare system," said Hindley. "But there has been significant progress made in a number of spaces across the province."
Hindley was unable to confirm or deny Conway's claim that the budget for 2025-26 included a $17 million reduction to healthcare in Saskatchewan. Conway directed people to look at page 27 of the budget to see the cuts mentioned. She referenced a 2025-26 expense table which showed that for health, the budgeted amount for 2024-25 was $7.639 billion. However, during the 2024-25 year, the province spent $8.02 billion. The table highlights the 2025-26 budget for health to be $8.004 billion, which is roughly $17 million lower than what was spent in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
"(Healthcare spending) has been a priority for us to make sure that we're working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority to make sure that the billions of dollars that we're investing into healthcare are being spent as effectively as possible."
The Ministry of Health asserted in an official release to Swift Current Online that the 2025-26 budget will include $8.07 billion for healthcare, which is a 6.4 per cent increase from the previous year.
"I can tell you that the NDP is also claiming the same when it comes to education," said Hindley. "They were talking about budget cuts on page 27 of the document, but that's also incorrect."
Hindley brought up how Conway, in contrast to her calls for more healthcare spending, introduced a motion in the legislative assembly to ban virtual healthcare.
The former Minister for Health said that it would have strong effects in places like Herbert, where virtual contact between doctors and patients and other professionals aids in the work capacity of the health professional.
"Again, I had the opportunity to serve as the Minister of Rural and Remote Health for three years, and as the Minister of Health," said Hindley. "And frankly, as someone who grew up in rural Saskatchewan, who was born in a regional hospital, I'm not going to be taking the advice or lessons from the so-called critic of rural and remote health of the opposition who represents the very urban riding of Regina Elphinstone-Centre."
When it came to the idea of using social media to post disruptions to healthcare to enable to the public to be informed prior to trying to access those services, Hindley was somewhat skeptical of the idea.
"In some circumstances, it's difficult to predict those (disruptions) and difficult to get that sort of information out quickly," said Hindley. "Is there a lot of work to do to perhaps do a better job of making the public aware of (disruptions)? Certainly."
Hindley highlighted that medical centres and the SHA do the utmost to avoid disruptions. However, in cases like vacations, illness, and other human elements, they can be unavoidable when there isn't anyone to cover that lapse.