8:30 – The labour dispute at Regina’s Co-op Refinery Complex shows no signs of ending soon, with police now maintaining a presence on the site to allow fuel trucks to enter and exit as the parties wait for the latest court decision to come down. Refinery management want Justice Neil Robertson to fine Unifor Local 594 $1 million and jail two of its leaders if they won’t comply with a previous injunction on conduct at picket lines. While many have criticized the illegal tactics of the picketers, others sympathize with the locked-out workers and say restructuring their pension plans and locking them out goes against Co-op’s traditional values of caring for its employees. Whenever public opinion is divided, it’s time for one of Gormley’s patented Reality Checks: Who do you support, Co-op management or the union workers? Give us a call at 1-877-332-8255 and add your voice to our poll!
REALITY CHECK: Who do you support, Co-op management or the union workers?
9:00 – The hour of the big stories …. open lines
10:00 – Saskatoon’s private MRIs are coming under fire from the NDP, who say the wait-list has doubled since 2015 and more than 10,000 people in Saskatchewan are currently waiting for a scan. The provincial government says the private MRI system, which requires private MRI clinics to scan a patient on the provincial wait-list for every private scan they perform, gives patients more options and added capacity at no extra cost to the health system or patients. The NDP, on the other hand, calls it a “failed experiment with Americanized healthcare.” The federal government is also against the system, and starting April 1 jurisdictions across Canada will need to provide diagnostic services like MRIs for free under the Canada Health Act. Meili joins Gormley to discuss the NDP’s concerns around MRIs.
LIVE: Ryan Meili, Saskatchewan NDP Leader.
10:15 – Saskatchewan’s Health Minister Jim Reiter joins the show to respond to the NDP’s criticism of the MRI wait-list, and his arguments against the federal government’s upcoming changes that might end the province’s one-for-one system.
LIVE: Jim Reiter, Saskatchewan Health Minister.
12:00 – This Saturday in Maple Creek, SK, locals from the Neekaneet First Nation and members of the local rodeo association (aka Cowboys) will face off in an epic hockey game that’s been 37 years running. Joe Braniff, one of the cowboys participating, joins Gormley to talk about the annual hockey game.
LIVE: Joe Braniff, organizer and player in the upcoming Battle of the Little Big Puck.