Moose Jaw – Lake Centre – Lanigan Conservative MP Fraser Tolmie says that the recently signed $6 billion healthcare agreement between the federal government and Saskatchewan is a “band-aid solution” for now. 

“The federal government has spent so much money over the past eight years that I don’t think they’re prepared to address this situation,” says Tolmie. “There’s been no foresight in their budgeting or their planning, this is a real challenge and I don’t believe that it will go away right away.”  

The agreement, which was signed in the province between the two governments includes $1.11 billion for a new bilateral deal focusing on shared healthcare priorities. In addition, a one-time $61 million top-up to the Canada Health Transfer to address urgent needs within Saskatchewan.  

Saskatchewan will use this funding to speed up measures already underway to improve access to primary health care, surgeries, and mental health and addiction services. 

Though this is a step forward for the province, Tolmie doesn’t believe that this agreement is enough to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“There are some things that I believe are missing that need to be addressed, says Tolmie. “When you sit down at the table and have been offered so much money, the Premier has said it’s the offer that we have been given and there has been very little negotiation,” adds Tolmie. 

One of the areas where Tolmie would like to see some improvement in his riding and the province is the continuous shortage of healthcare workers.  

“We’ve come up with a Blue Seal Plan where we believe doctors and nurses that are immigrants to this country and if they write a test and they’re on-par with the Canadian Medical Association, that they should be able to practice. I don’t believe the federal government has been doing that.” 

As part of the agreement, Canada has committed to working with the province to streamline foreign credential recognition for internationally educated healthcare professionals.  

The hiring of educated foreign professionals was something that Tolmie was pushing when he was the Mayor of Moose Jaw from 2016 to 2021. Now in his role as a federal MP, this is a topic that he has been continuing to advocate for.  

“We need to streamline a process where both the federal and provincial governments are talking and there is less bureaucracy and red tape. If you’ve been approved by the province, their standard are to the federal government's standard so that it is streamlined within province."

Tolmie hopes that this new streamlined process will help alleviate some of the healthcare pressures within his riding.  

“The problem that we’re hearing is that healthcare workers are overworked, there’s a shortage of them, and it’s a challenge. I think we need to look at the situation a little bit different to be able to address the shortages of healthcare workers.” 

One of the areas where shortages are more present is in rural areas, which is most of Tolmie’s riding.  

“We want to make sure that the existing healthcare workers that are in place don’t experience burnout. They’re in that role because they care and we understand that. We want to make sure we’re getting the right people and make sure they’re going to stay. There are some great communities across Saskatchewan that are unique places to live. We want to make sure when people are immigrating to this country, it’s not just the big centres.” 

Retaining healthcare workers is one part of the province’s four-point healthcare plan they announced in early September. The $60-million action plan with also help recruit, train, and incentivize healthcare workers.

Saskatchewan is the eighth province to sign a deal with Ottawa on healthcare funding, following Alberta, the four Atlantic provinces, Ontario and Manitoba.