Political Action and Awareness Committee

A Message from the Political Action & Awareness Committee

January 29, 2026 will mark 790 days since construction of a new main entrance began at St. Paul's Hospital expanding its main entrance interior by more than 6,500 square feet. At the same time, hospital workers, CBO workers, and long-term care staff across the province have gone 1,034 days without a contract, all while working through a persistent and dangerous staffing crisis. 

Prairie Political Action Conference Reports

The SEIU-West Political Action and Awareness Committee recently sponsored two members to attend the Prairie Political Action Conference, presented by the Canadian Labour Congress. Below are the reports of the attendees.

12 Days of Politics!

The SEIU-West Political Action and Awareness Committee is celebrating the holiday season with a contest!

Letter to the Editor - Martin Been August 30

Better uses for resource windfall

The recent announcement by the Saskatchewan Party government to share resource revenue is suspicious. If you recall, Saskatchewan experienced a record resource revenue boom from 2011 to 2014 and no one saw either cheques in the mail or an improvement of public services. We saw squandering.

The decision to dish out a ‘share-the-wealth’ $500 payment this fall won’t even cover the increases for many that the Saskatchewan Party government has quietly imposed, such as a new school fee to make up for a shortfall in funding for our education system, provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and used cars and transportation costs to find health care out of province.

A simple injection of much-needed dollars would go a long way to clear the backlog of surgeries that health care is experiencing right now. An investment in education is investing in the future of this province.

Finance Minister Harpauer insists that investments in our public services are not sustainable, but I argue that if it was a priority, it would be sustainable.

The Saskatchewan Party tells us that they are keeping Saskatchewan strong and on the right track. It appears we are on the track for a two-tiered health-care and education system, much like the United States.

Martin Been

Saskatoon

 

Find the published article in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix here.

Letter to the Editor - Martin Been July 30, 2022

An article published in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix on July 25 titled “Saskatchewan will pay private clinics to help close surgery gap,” explains the Saskatchewan Party government wants a privately run orthopedic surgery clinic to be built in the province in an effort to clear a record backlog of postponed procedures.

The article states: “The province will issue a formal request to a private company to build a site focused on increasing operating room and bed capacity for in-patient joint replacements, as well as a variety of day surgery procedures.”

The Ministry of Health says it is also exploring contracting an existing private surgery clinic outside of the province to perform hip and knee surgeries for residents on the province’s waitlist.

This from a government that once proudly proclaimed that Saskatchewan is a “have” province.

Timing of this announcement, coinciding with the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Tommy Douglas’ medicare, should be more than concerning.

With the plan to build private clinics and outsource publicly funded surgeries to private clinics, is this government signalling the end of publicly funded and administered health care?

If allowed to proceed with this plan, this government will add health care to the list of items people in Saskatchewan can no longer afford.

Martin Been

Saskatoon

 

Find the published article in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix here.

Letter to the Prime Minister 2022- Martin Been

Martin Been, Member of SEIU-West Political Action and Awareness Committee, has upped his game in response to the lack of response from his letter to his Member of Parliament, as well as letters to the Editor of the Star Phoenix: Investment Must Stay With Long-Term Care in Saskatchewan and concerns expressed over private healthcare in Saskatchewan and the poor response from the Provincial Health Minister.

Read on! 

Letters to the Editor: Investment Must Stay With Long-Term Care in Saskatchewan

Martin Been, SEIU-West Political Action and Awareness Committee member recently had a letter to the editor published regarding long-term care funding. 
Read on:

 

Committee Openings

As you may be aware, we have a number of committees who are looking to fill vacancies. If you are an SEIU-West member (or know of an SEIU-West member in your workplace) that is looking for a great way to get involved in your union, are enthusiastic, curious, and ready to learn, take a look at the various committees and see if one peaks your interest.

The committees looking to fill out their allotted number of members are as follows:

• Aboriginal Committee
• Multicultural Mentorship Committee
• Political Action & Awareness Committee
• Worker Safety Committee
• Young Workers Committee

If one catches your eye, send in an Expression of Interest form. 

We also have a Committee Openings poster that can be displayed on the SEIU-West bulletin board in your workplace for coworkers to find. Joining a committee is a great way to meet new people, step outside of your comfort zone, and show your solidarity in your union.

 

 

Letter to the Health Minister - Martin Been 2022

Did you get a letter back from Paul Merriman, Health Minister when you signed our online letter petition?

This is Martin's reply letter and his subsequent reply back to the Minister.

Letter to Brad Redekopp, MP, Saskatoon West by Janine Lazaro

Political Action and Awareness Committee (PAAC) member, Janine Lazaro, engaged with the CLC (Canadian Labour Congress) campaign, Jobs and economic recovery for working families by writing her Member of Parliament, (MP) Brad Redekopp as a constituent.

If you want to join an of the CLC campaigns click here.

Below is Janine's letter and Brad's response.