Meili concerned premier sending ‘mixed message’ with talk of re-opening economy

The leader of the opposition is warning Premier Scott Moe against talking about plans to re-open Saskatchewan’s economy, citing concerns it could lead to people taking the COVID-19 pandemic less seriously.

NDP leader Ryan Meili spoke to reporters via Zoom on Wednesday, saying it’s “too early” to talk about re-opening segments of the provincial economy.

“There’s a real risk that the message gets muddied and people start to draw back from these (public health) measures,” Meili said of Moe’s announcement that a plan could be coming on restarting the economy.

“We really don’t want that to happen.”

The premier has said that if new cases continue to slow, a plan could come as early as next week.

Meili said that shouldn’t be Moe’s focus. Instead, he said there are still gaps in the province’s current pandemic response.

“We still are not ready from a healthcare point of view,” Meili said.

“ICU equipment that still isn’t in place, we still don’t have the ventilators we’d need if we see a big spike. We still don’t have enough personal protective equipment available for everyone who should be wearing it.”

The NDP leader acknowledged people are feeling “frustrated” by not being able to go out and interact with others. He worries that the “mixed messaging” from Moe speaking about opening for business could lead to some of those people feeling like they can go out again.

“We’re going to have signals from the weather, signals from the amount of time that we’ve been physically distancing that will make people want to do this less,” Meili said.

“We should not have signals from the premier of anything but ‘stick with the plan until the plan changes.’”

Public health orders currently bar any public or private gatherings of more than 10 people, and strongly recommends that physical distancing of six feet is maintained at all times. Only a restricted list of “allowable businesses” are able to operate facing the public.