Sask. health minister rejects COVID-19 aid offer from Ottawa
Saskatchewan’s minister of health has declined an offer for pandemic-related assistance from the federal government.
In a letter to federal health minister Patty Hajdu, Saskatchewan’s Paul Merriman said acute care capacity in Saskatchewan has been expanded.
“At this time, we have expanded the capacity in our acute and intensive care units in order to address pressures we are experiencing, and we will to continue to use the federal resources that have always been in place to complement those efforts.”
In the letter, Merriman requested expedited approval for rapid tests and distribution of antibody therapies.
His office did not respond to an interview request Monday, and the health minister last took open questions from the media one month ago.
CTV News reached out Tuesday with another request to interview the minister. According to a representative for Merriman, he may be available Wednesday.
In a tweet on Friday, the federal health minister Patty Hajdu confirmed she spoke with provincial health minister Paul Merriman and “ensured he knows the federal government will be there to help the people of Saskatchewan in this health crisis.”
“We stand ready to help wherever we are needed,” the tweet read.
While the federal government is ready to help, Hajdu reminded Merriman it takes time to deploy these resources, and that equipment is easier to ship out than healthcare workers.
“It depends on the resourcing needs of Saskatchewan, which is why it’s so critical that the province be looking ahead to what they anticipate they’ll need as they try to deal with the surge,” said Hajdu in a phone interview.
The offer from Ottawa comes as Saskatchewan reported an all-time high of 4,864 active cases on Sunday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.