Meili: Reopening plan has to put people first

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As we look ahead to rebuilding, now is the time to introduce Sask-First policies. When we build our schools, our highways and our hospitals, we should build them with our companies and our workers.

Now is the time to put our Crown corporations to work, and put Saskatchewan people to work for our Crowns, building rural high-speed internet and seizing the opportunities presented by renewable energy.

Now is the time to re-invest in frontline care, expand home care and properly staff long-term care.

And now is the time to make sure that we don’t leave Saskatchewan workers with the lowest minimum wage in Canada any longer. These hard-working people deserve a decent living for the essential work they do.

Now, more than ever, Saskatchewan people need to stand together and lift each other up. And we need a government that will help us do that, for today and for the future.

The only way through this is pulling together — and that’s what Saskatchewan people do best. Together, we will stay safe, we will stay ready to fight COVID-19 and we will build a future for our province that puts people first.

Ryan Meili is the leader of the Saskatchewan NDP and the province’s official Opposition.