NDP leadership candidate practices medicine in Wynyard

By Denise Mozel
The Wynyard Advance
March 30, 2009

It is not every day that an NDP leadership candidate practises medicine in Wynyard.

That’s what happened last week.

For five days Dr. Ryan Meili worked as a rural relief locum at the Wynyard Community Health Centre.

Nearly two months ago Meili joined the provincial NDP leadership race. He is running against former MLA Dwain Lingenfelter, current Moose Jaw Wakamow MLA Deb Higgins, and Regina lawyer Yens Pedersen.

A resident of Saskatoon’s Riversdale, Meili said he is enjoying the time he spends practising medicine in rural Saskatchewan.

“I like working in rural medicine. You get a lot of variety,” said Meili, who is just one week shy of his 34th birthday.

Another reason Meili likes working in rural Saskatchewan is the insight it gives him into each community he visits.

“I go to the towns and get to know what main street is like, and get to know what issues people are facing. Spending a week in places, I get to know the people. I get an in-depth understanding rather than just parachuting in for coffee,” said Meili, making a reference to Lingenfelter’s campaign style of visiting communities in each provincial constituency for coffee parties.

Meili grew up on a farm near Courval, which had a population count of five people in the 2006 Census.

The leadership candidate joked about the size of his hometown, which is located between Moose Jaw and Gravelbourg.

“Twenty percent of the population died last year. His name was Jim,” said Meili, who attended high school in Moose Jaw, and went to university in Saskatoon. He graduated from medical school in 2004.

Meili is the co-founder of Student Wellness Initiative Toward Community Health (SWITCH), an inner-city clinic that has students from several disciplines, including doctors, nurses, social workers, physiotherapists, dietitians, and others serving the needs of residents of Saskatoon’s core neighbourhood.

It is as a doctor that Meili came to believe that existing social problems need to be fixed before the health of the society as a whole can improve.

“I really like being a doctor. I get to sit down with people and make friends with them, hear their problems and help them. That is really rewarding. Through my work in the inner city and (in northern Saskatchewan) I realized the medicine and advice I give will make some difference, but it is for the short term. The problems people face in real life like unemployment, housing, nutrition... will keep them coming back to the clinic. After a while you realize that if the problem is political, the answers have to be too,” said Meili.

Until now Meili had stayed mainly behind the scenes of the political process, volunteering as a campaign worker on provincial and federal campaigns. The desire to help build a healthier society is one of the reasons the doctor has entered the leadership race.

In this campaign, Meili has also pinpointed some key issues regarding the environment.

“We need to make a decision on energy. With the amount of wind and sun we have, we should be investing in the long term,” said Meili, who is pushing for investment to harness wind, solar, and hydro rather than depending on non-renewable resources like coal, fossil fuels and nuclear power.

When meeting Meili, an initial first-impression is that he does not seem to fit the mold of a politician. Dressed in casual clothing, he seems more down-to-earth than the usual suit and tie wearing candidates. He is also very soft spoken. Meili hopes all of that will work to his advantage in this leadership race.

“I am hoping people are looking for somebody who is different, and more thoughtful. People have been responding well to me. They are used to a certain mold of politician that rubs them the wrong way - that seems insincere. I do (seem sincere) because I really believe the things I say,” said Meili.

According to Meili people are saying good things about him being in the leadership race.

“They are saying ‘I’ve never had a membership before but I get what you say and it excites me.’ They are saying, ‘It’s the first time I feel like I can vote for somebody instead of against somebody else,’” said Meili.

The doctor-turned-politician is encouraged by the feedback. Whether or not it translates into votes remains to be seen. The Saskatchewan New Democrats will choose a leader at their June convention.