Murray Wood: Saskatchewan is winning the race to the bottom on minimum wage
An increase is coming for Saskatchewan's minimum-wage earners this fall, but Murray Wood says it will ensure they contin...
The Saskatchewan government’s plan to lift COVID-19 restrictions was met with mostly praise from infectious disease physician Dr. Alex Wong.
“I think it’s inherently good for the government to try to incentivize the population by setting reasonable vaccine targets,” Wong said.
The plan ties the lifting of restrictions to vaccination rates.
“These 70 per cent targets for first dose are similar to what we’ve seen, for example, with the state of Michigan as well as the Biden administration in the States,” Wong said.
On the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Wednesday, Wong said the plan comes with some “fine print,” noting that hospitalizations and pressure on acute care could derail its progress.
“So it’s not a hard and fast plan, but inherently I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It gives the collective Saskatchewan community a reason to kind of push forward,” he said.
“Things are getting so polarized these days but this is one thing that we can all agree on, which is that vaccinating as soon as possible is critically important. So it’s something that we all need to support each other for.”
Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said the government’s plan was “measured.” And because the lifting of pandemic measures depends on vaccination rates, she said it puts the people in charge.
“(It) really does put the re-opening (of) our city back up in the hands of the citizens of Regina,” Masters said.
“We’re close. We’re at 65 per cent for Step 1. We need folks over the age of 40 to go get vaccinated.”
Masters urged everyone to get a jab when the age requirement drops.
“That will be the determinant for both re-opening but also to reduce the strain on our health-care system and keep people out of the hospital,” she said.
