Question Period took place at the legislative assembly on Tuesday, where there were plenty of questions for the Government of Saskatchewan about their COVID-19 response.

This was the first legislative assembly since the October 26 provincial election.

Vicki Mowat, NDP MLA for Saskatoon-Fairview, questioned Health Minister Paul Merriman about the government's plan to develop 400 additional ICU beds, which was announced in the spring, and asked how many additional beds have actually been added, how many ICU beds are currently operational, and how many are full.

Merriman did not provide any specifics or numbers but said the government is continuing to balance the needs of responding to COVID-19, and the non-pandemic needs of the healthcare system.

Mowat, who was disappointed with the answer, then brought up field-hospitals.

"We know staff are already training for the possibility of being deployed into field-hospitals. To the Minister: What is the exact threshold to trigger the health authority to open field-hospitals?".

Health Minister, Paul Merriman.

"What we are continually doing is adjusting some of the needs within the Saskatchewan Health Authority and within our rural and urban hospitals to be able to get the staff to fully be able to take care of those peoples that are in the ICU. I hope that at some point we don't have to use those field-hospitals, but if we do, they're ready to go."

The leader of the NDP, Ryan Meili, took his time to question Premier Scott Moe on his response to the pandemic.

"Today in Saskatchewan we have three times as many cases of COVID-19 as we did on November 1. Will the Premier acknowledge today that his current plan is failing Saskatchewan people and that if we're going to save lives and livelihoods, we need action and investment?".

Premier Scott Moe.

"We will continue taking a balanced and measured approach, we'll continue to take the advice of our Chief Medical Health Officer, and we will continue to work with the people of this province to curb the spread of COVID-19, to preserve lives, but also to preserve livelihoods in this province."

Meili went on to ask the Premier about the government 'sitting on' a contingency fund of $260 million dollars that was set aside to help residents during the pandemic, asking what he was waiting for.

Premier Moe replied by saying that a portion of that has been invested in to the education system and that the government has been there since the start of the pandemic to support people and businesses.