Sask. government contingency plan could redeploy provincial employees to healthcare system
The provincial government is working on a contingency plan to redeploy civil servants into the healthcare system, as Omicron continues to spread.
The workers would assist in areas understaffed due to COVID-19 illness. The province is looking for approximately 500 volunteers from the ministries.
“Part of that plan is to work with Saskatchewan’s Public Service Commission to identify potential staffing resources within the provincial government who could be redeployed to support health care services in non-medical roles, such as meal preparation, cleaning, and administrative duties,” the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) said in a statement.
During a previous wave last year, the province relied on a group of military personnel to help at hospitals. Others, such as firefighters took shifts at nursing homes.
The NDP Opposition feels the government is not being straight with the public.
“The premier has been out 48 hours ago talking about ‘hospitalizations due to COVID right now are not a big deal in Saskatchewan,’” Vicki Mowat, an NDP MLA said.
“At the same time we find out that government is redeploying 500 employees from government into the health care sector because of understaffing that exists and concerns about hospitalization growing.”
The province said no employees have been redeployed and no decision has been made on deployment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW What Canada is doing about the toxic forever chemicals in drinking water
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Arrest made, manslaughter charge pending in 2022 death of Calgary toddler
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson Airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Here's why experts don't think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai's downpour
Scientists say it's highly unlikely cloud seeding is responsible for the heavy rains that have caused flooding in the United Arab Emirates this month, and that climate change is the more likely culprit.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.