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News Release
June 1, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

With less than a week until the Saskatchewan NDP elects a new leader, candidate Ryan Meili’s use of innovative online tools has allowed him to seize momentum in the final days of the campaign.

Last week, Meili invoked the basketball strategy of the full court press, with innovative policy announcements in Saskatoon (Prescription Drugs), Yorkton (Arts and Culture), Moose Jaw (Seniors) and Regina (Recruitment and Retention of Health Professionals). He also unveiled new endorsements from health policy expert Professor Allan Backman and Executive Director of the Romanow Commission Professor Greg Marchildon.

One of the things we have prided ourselves on as a campaign has been our willingness to try new things, including our use of the Internet as a vehicle for connecting people and for political organizing.

Even so, when some of our people first proposed

The Ryan Meili Money Bomb

- especially when they told me no campaign in Canada had done this before - I wondered how well it would work.

But we can't be afraid of new ways of doing things. Our campaign identified an ambitious fundraising goal of $10,000 and we set to work to achieve it.

News Release
May 29, 2009

Training health professionals in vulnerable communities and in rural areas is the key to recruiting and retaining doctors, nurses and other health professionals in Saskatchewan, according to Dr. Ryan Meili.

“The best way to ensure we have family doctors and other health professionals we need is to train them where they are needed. When new doctors work in inner city neighbourhoods, they learn about the social determinants of health and develop a passion for that kind of practice,” said Meilli.

By Carter Haydu
The Moose Jaw Times Herald
May 28, 2009

Video: NDP leadership candidate Ryan Meili speaks in Moose Jaw to seniors on May 27.

Physician Ryan Meili believes he has the political prescription for Saskatchewan’s elderly — himself.

The provincial NDP leadership candidate released his seniors’ policy during a meet-and-greet event at Timothy Eaton Gardens on Wednesday.

“With the baby boomer generation entering its senior years, the population of elderly people will experience a rapid and significant growth,” he told a room filled with seniors.

“It is vital that people have the opportunity to make the most of their final years, with appropriate housing and other necessary supports.”

Among the initiatives he would support as NDP leader, Meili discussed his idea of establishing a pharmaceutical Crown corporation, called SaskPharm, in which the province would make and sell generic prescription drugs to its citizens at reduced prices.

News Release
May 28, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NDP leadership candidate Ryan Meili has called on the government to suspend the work of the current public consultation on uranium development until the mandate can be expanded and the consultation period extended.

“When the government’s eventual decision is a foregone conclusion, then public consultation is a sham,” according to Meili. “We’ve seen an unbalanced committee produce a one-sided report. Now a hurried consultation process will provide cover for the Wall government to do what they intended to do from the start.”

DiscoverMooseJaw.com

He's the other local candidate. Saskatoon doctor Ryan Meili is seeking the leadership of the Saskatchewan NDP. Born and raised in and around Moose Jaw Meili came back home to unveil his seniors policy this morning.

The plan includes increasing the number of long-term care spaces while reducing the strain on long-term care by enhancing supports for seniors to stay in their homes longer. "We could do things differently by supporting people to stay at home by giving grants and incentives to family members to care for them", Meili said.

News Release
May 27, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Describing a healthy society as one which respects, learns from and provides for its elders, NDP leadership candidate Ryan Meili released his seniors policy at an event in Moose Jaw this morning.

“With the baby boomer generation entering their senior years the population of elderly people will experience a rapid and significant growth,” according to Meili. “it is vital that people have the opportunity to make the most of their final years, receive appropriate housing and other necessary supports.”

News Release
May 26, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A targeted program to support cultural initiatives in rural communities would enhance the quality of life while stimulating the economy, according to Ryan Meili. The NDP leadership candidate released his arts and culture platform in Yorkton today.

“Whether its murals in Moose Jaw or opera in Esterhazy, the story of Saskatchewan culture isn’t just a tale of two cities,” said Meili. “People of all ages in all parts of the province are touched by the arts, even when they may not realize it. High school music festivals, regional craft fairs, local dinner theatre are all part of the cultural tapestry which connects us as a society.”

With the Saskatchewan NDP leadership race nearing its conclusion - and with at least three of the camps making regular media appearances as a result - I've fallen out of the habit of trying to document every endorsement or policy announcement. But it's worth noting one fairly striking pattern that's emerged in the policy releases from the respective camps.

News Release
May 25, 2009

NDP leadership candidate Ryan Meili has released a multi-phase plan to address rising drug costs, including the creation of a Crown Corporation to manufacture generic prescription drugs. Speaking at his Saskatoon campaign headquarters, Meili identified prescription drug costs as the greatest single threat to universal health care in Canada.

"If we are serious about maintaining our single-payer, publicly-funded health care system, we need to stop simply defending medicare. We need to expand and improve it to address today's challenges,” Meili said. "Prescription drug costs are one of the fastest growing expenditures in our health budget. High drug costs are also a growing burden for many Saskatchewan people who go without needed medications for financial reasons. We need creative approaches to address this serious problem."