Brkich exposes Moe’s COVID-19 shortcomings

For months Premier Scott Moe has been warned that his COVID-19 pandemic planning circle is simply too small, insular and unvaried.

Even though Moe has been wisely following the lead of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab, mayors and Opposition Leader Ryan Meili have grumbled that Moe must broaden his base of decision-makers to avoid serious mistakes.

Yes, such advice from opposing politicians — or even politicians from other levels of governance — is often self-serving. But it’s even more self-serving to see government House Leader Jeremy Harrison dictating terms that defy scrutiny of government decisions — the latest being the patently ridiculous notion that the legislature should spend no more than eight days to pass what will surely be a record deficit in the 2020-21 budget. Sadly, Moe, Harrison, et. al. seem too comfortable adding to that deficit with things like the recent $56-million “special warrant” to temporarily supplement wages.

The government agreed Tuesday to a 14-day sitting beginning June 15.

Add to this the unimpeded SHA decision to temporarily close rural hospital emergency rooms in the middle of spring seeding to deal with non-existent problems. By the looks of it, even the Saskatchewan Party’s own rural members aren’t being properly consulted or advised of decisions being made by Moe’s inner circle.

Enter 21-year Arm River-watrous MLA Greg Brkich who has never been selected to cabinet but who has been well-respected for his populist instincts critical to the heart of the Sask. Party’s political success.

“Greg is and was a great MLA. He never forgot who sent him to Regina,” tweeted former Sask. Party premier Brad Wall 10 months ago when Bkrich announced his upcoming retirement. “He brought common sense and political insight to our caucus and never hesitated to speak out. It was an honour to serve with him and to call him a friend.”

It was a pretty good synopsis of the value of a backbencher and may be even more relevant today — especially if Brkich actually gets through to the government hierarchy after everyone else has failed to do so.

Brkich sent a email to SHA CEO Scott Livingstone two weeks ago — a letter copied to Moe, Health Minister Jim Reiter and Minister of Rural and Remote Health Minister Warren Kaeding — expressing his “grave concerns” over the temporary closure of the Davidson Hospital’s emergency room. The veteran MLA called it a “huge overreaction to the current COVID situation.”

It is a bizarre notion to proceed without having gone through better policy scrutiny — especially given that rural health care and hospital closures has been as prominent a political issue as we’ve ever had.

It may show how quickly a government can become out of touch. By no small coincidence, most of the 12 temporarily closed hospitals are in ridings of backbenchers not in Moe’s inner circle. If that inner circle was a tad bigger, one suspects someone might have earlier relayed the folly of closing down rural ERS when they were most needed because it would mean those in a decision-making capacity getting what Brkich described as “many, many calls and emails”.

Brkich acknowledged the need for nurse training in the event of a major outbreak, but rightly noted “local folks are being short changed again in rural Saskatchewan” when left without quality emergency care.

About the only thing more mind-boggling than a governing party holding all the rural seats missing this is as an issue is a doctor-led NDP Opposition that’s been beaten up for a quarter century over its own government’s closure of rural hospitals not immediately seizing on this issue.

Brkich blamed “the bureaucrats” and this is hardly the first communication breakdown by the SHA (see: the breakouts in La Loche, Lloydminster) or short-sighted decision by this agency that could have should have done better.

But, ultimately, this is the responsibility of the Moe government that directly stems from its narrow decision-making approach.

Ironically, it took one of their own to point it out.

Mandryk is the political columnist for the Regina Leader-post and Saskatoon Starphoenix