In the 1980s, kids were encouraged to “just say no” when it came to drugs. Today, the provincial NDP wishes the Government of Saskatchewan would “just say something.” Last week, Athabasca NDP MLA Leroy Laliberte, who also serves as the Opposition’s First Nations and Métis relations shadow minister, addressed the Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) about what his party describes as an ongoing drug crisis. The NDP claims the Saskatchewan Party also continues to withhold critical information on how many people are stuck on waitlists for life saving addictions treatment.
According to the NDP, drugs have claimed the lives of at least 270 Saskatchewan people in 2025 while there are waitlists with hundreds of people on them for a single addiction treatment centre. Laliberte also said provincial mental health and addictions minister Lori Carr has refused for days in Question Period to provide figures on how many people are on the waitlists and how long they have been waiting. “The minister can’t even be transparent while our kids are dying of these drugs flooding into our communities,” Laliberte said. “I’ve never seen such a sorry excuse for leadership. It’s clear, after 18 years, the Saskatchewan Party would rather provide themselves political cover than come clean and take necessary steps to save lives.” Saskatchewan NDP mental health and addictions shadow minister Betty Nippi-Albright first asked Carr to release the figures Nov. 12 during Question Period, then again Nov. 13. She then asked again last Tuesday (Nov. 18) and Laliberte did the same last Wednesday (Nov. 19). “We have a minister here who hides the facts while people die on our streets,” Nippi-Albright said. “Enough is enough. We need to change the government so we can take the necessary action to save lives. We can deliver big, bold change in health care and go back to leading the country.”
Meanwhile, during Laliberte’s meeting with MLTC members in Saskatoon Thursday (Nov. 20), concerns were shared about how drugs are impacting not only the nine MLTC First Nations, but similar communities throughout the province. The chiefs also spoke at length last Wednesday (Nov. 19) about the impact of rampant crime in Saskatchewan. MLTC is calling for fast action to increase policing following a rise in violence, gang activity, drugs and emergency response times. MLTC is also calling for local police detachments with holding cells, more police presence and for it to be led by First Nations. “We need to get tough on crime and do what’s necessary to keep our kids alive,” Laliberte said. “These drugs will keep killing people until we see a government that’s willing to invest in health care and specifically in mental health and addiction supports.”
In a subsequent interview with Northern Pride, Laliberte reiterated how MLTC is concerned about the safety of its communities and of all communities. “We are having to wait an hour-and-a-half for police to get into some of these communities during times of crisis, and it’s quite concerning,” Laliberte said. “A lot of these nations already feel they are being neglected when it comes to any sort of services or resources needed to tackle this issue.”
As for Carr’s failure to release the requested information in terms of the number of people on waitlists and for how long, Laliberte said the NDP gave her the benefit of the doubt the first time she was asked. “But, asking her a fourth time in the Assembly and still getting the runaround… How are we supposed to know what type of services these people are looking for to battle this crisis in our province?” Laliberte continued. “The province has said numerous times it is committed to investment when it comes to the mental health and addictions crisis. They say they are offering between 300-500 beds, but we haven’t seen that… And, we’re losing so many people to addictions… We had another individual from the northwest pass away yesterday (Nov. 19) to an overdose. This is an absolute crisis in our province and it needs to be tackled right away.”