Another Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) executive is leaving the organization in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic..Dr. Kevin Wasco, a physician executive for Integrated Rural Health with the Saskatchewan Health Authority announced he was leaving his position on Thursday, February 17. .In early December, SHA CEO Scott Livingstone resigned for reasons that are still not known. On Friday, February 18, Wasco told CBC radio Morning Edition’s Stefani Langenegger why he was moving on..“I am tired. I know that my colleagues, who are system leaders across the country — but here in Saskatchewan, definitely — they’re tired too.” he said. .“I just need to take a step back for a while from that to be able to reset … and get back some of that real joy from work that I want to have.” .Wasco, who has an M.A. from the University of Calgary, first joined the SHA in 2017. Prior to that, he was a member of the Saskatchewan Medical Association Board tasked with making the SHA the sole health authority in the province. He was raised in Eastend and practiced medicine in Swift Current. He has accepted a position as an emergency room physician in Toronto..“We’re frustrated when we hear people in the community rejecting the science. Or saying that the protections that are in place are tyrannical or, you know, impeding their freedoms and their rights,” Wasco told Langenegger..“Over the past month I’ve been considering [moving on] and I just finally came to that decision within the last week. It definitely was not an easy decision for me, but ultimately I think it’s the right one for me at this time.”.Wasco’s departure comes at the same time as a Freedom of Information request was made to the SHA by a new group called Saskatchewan Schools Alliance. Nadine Ness announced their existence in a February 17 email to her Unified Grassroots Group members..“Saskatchewan citizens want to ensure that the infringement of civil liberties imposed by the Saskatchewan government, as they relate to COVID-19, were demonstrably justified. The only way to know this is to have access to honest, transparent data and information the government used to base its policy decisions. Saskatchewan citizens have many questions and deserve answers from their publicly governed institutions responsible for the policy recommendations,” the emailed press release explained..“Sask Schools Alliance has collaborated with local and world-renowned medical professionals, as well as legal counsel, to create a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) request to the SHA and Ministry of Health. Receiving answers to these questions is necessary to achieve transparency and accountability for Saskatchewan citizens.”.The Freedom of Information request is 27 pages long and extensive in its questions on the evidence used to justify pandemic responses by the SHA. It was issued February 4by lawyer Louis Browne of Willows, Wellsch, Orr & Brundige LLP, who is also a former Regina city councillor and former Liberal candidate for Regina-Lewvan..“If it is more convenient for you, we would welcome responses in sections…In other words, please do not wait until all the questions from all the sections are answered before replying to us,” Browne wrote..“Please note that the livelihoods of many Saskatchewan people are on the line, so we would appreciate your urgent attention to this matter.”.Browne told the SHA to advise them if costs would exceed $2,500, as that was the total amount they were authorized to spend on the request..In an interview, Ness told Western Standard that the new teachers’ alliance was a different legal entity from Unified Grassroots..“They’re actually really wonderful teachers,” Ness said..“They’ve been serving notice of liability to all the school boards. They’re going after all the school boards in the whole province…For them, it’s like a chance at fighting against their employers who have taken too much power.”.Lee Harding is a Western Standard contributor living in Saskatchewan.
Another Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) executive is leaving the organization in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic..Dr. Kevin Wasco, a physician executive for Integrated Rural Health with the Saskatchewan Health Authority announced he was leaving his position on Thursday, February 17. .In early December, SHA CEO Scott Livingstone resigned for reasons that are still not known. On Friday, February 18, Wasco told CBC radio Morning Edition’s Stefani Langenegger why he was moving on..“I am tired. I know that my colleagues, who are system leaders across the country — but here in Saskatchewan, definitely — they’re tired too.” he said. .“I just need to take a step back for a while from that to be able to reset … and get back some of that real joy from work that I want to have.” .Wasco, who has an M.A. from the University of Calgary, first joined the SHA in 2017. Prior to that, he was a member of the Saskatchewan Medical Association Board tasked with making the SHA the sole health authority in the province. He was raised in Eastend and practiced medicine in Swift Current. He has accepted a position as an emergency room physician in Toronto..“We’re frustrated when we hear people in the community rejecting the science. Or saying that the protections that are in place are tyrannical or, you know, impeding their freedoms and their rights,” Wasco told Langenegger..“Over the past month I’ve been considering [moving on] and I just finally came to that decision within the last week. It definitely was not an easy decision for me, but ultimately I think it’s the right one for me at this time.”.Wasco’s departure comes at the same time as a Freedom of Information request was made to the SHA by a new group called Saskatchewan Schools Alliance. Nadine Ness announced their existence in a February 17 email to her Unified Grassroots Group members..“Saskatchewan citizens want to ensure that the infringement of civil liberties imposed by the Saskatchewan government, as they relate to COVID-19, were demonstrably justified. The only way to know this is to have access to honest, transparent data and information the government used to base its policy decisions. Saskatchewan citizens have many questions and deserve answers from their publicly governed institutions responsible for the policy recommendations,” the emailed press release explained..“Sask Schools Alliance has collaborated with local and world-renowned medical professionals, as well as legal counsel, to create a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) request to the SHA and Ministry of Health. Receiving answers to these questions is necessary to achieve transparency and accountability for Saskatchewan citizens.”.The Freedom of Information request is 27 pages long and extensive in its questions on the evidence used to justify pandemic responses by the SHA. It was issued February 4by lawyer Louis Browne of Willows, Wellsch, Orr & Brundige LLP, who is also a former Regina city councillor and former Liberal candidate for Regina-Lewvan..“If it is more convenient for you, we would welcome responses in sections…In other words, please do not wait until all the questions from all the sections are answered before replying to us,” Browne wrote..“Please note that the livelihoods of many Saskatchewan people are on the line, so we would appreciate your urgent attention to this matter.”.Browne told the SHA to advise them if costs would exceed $2,500, as that was the total amount they were authorized to spend on the request..In an interview, Ness told Western Standard that the new teachers’ alliance was a different legal entity from Unified Grassroots..“They’re actually really wonderful teachers,” Ness said..“They’ve been serving notice of liability to all the school boards. They’re going after all the school boards in the whole province…For them, it’s like a chance at fighting against their employers who have taken too much power.”.Lee Harding is a Western Standard contributor living in Saskatchewan.
