Mandryk: Moe's Toronto award for his right-wing views rather telling
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's eagerness to cater to right-wing interests is a theme he can't seem to escape.
via @TheStarPhoenix @PremierScottMoethestarphoenix.com/opinion/column… What was clear from the results of the 2024 Saskatchewan election is that Moe and his strategists have now determined it’s unwise to continue to be perceived as dogmatically hardline right-wing.

During the course of my career I was fortunate to develop a network of wonderful friends with whom I often got to meet face-to-face. In my retirement I have considerably fewer opportunities for face-to-face interactions (1/10) My wife and I also developed a strong network of friends through a variety of volunteer organizations that we mutually supported. About 14 months ago my wife was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer. (2/10)

During the course of my healthcare career I was privileged to engage in a very diverse array of roles that afforded me amazing opportunities to learn about the nexus between human health & illness/suffering. I'd like to share some insights I gained (1/12) The first 15 years of my career were devoted to clinical family medicine with a major focus on obstetrics. During those years I attended over 200 deliveries per year. I found joy in supporting the birthing process as it offset some of the more sad work (2/12)

@UnfilteredinSK @SaskHealth Scott Livingstone resigned from his position as CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) when the Saskatchewan Government tried to a force a political appointee onto his Senior Leadership Team (SLT). (1/8) @UnfilteredinSK @SaskHealth I was a member of the 3 citizen Task Force appointed by @SKGov make recommendations for restructuring the Saskatchewan healthcare system which then had 12 geographically defined Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) with their own Boards (2/8)

I grew up on a small Saskatchewan mixed farm. My foundational education in grades 1-8 occurred in a one room rural schoolhouse. My sisters and I travelled 4 miles from our farm to this school by horse-dawn buggy in summer & van in winter (1/12) The culture in this farming community was one in which neighbors gladly helped one another. My dad had amazing self-taught machine repair skills & would even come off the combine during harvest to repair a neighbor's combine (2/12)

In 2002 through adoption of The Health Quality Council Act the Government of Saskatchewan established the Health Quality Council (HQC). I served on the HQC Board from 2002-2015 & as the interim CEO in 2016-17
(1/10) The research team is granted access to all healthcare data in Saskatchewan and analyzes that data to identify the most effective options for organization & delivery of all healthcare services in Saskatchewan (2/10)

During the course of my life, I have had a keen interest in Public Policy.
Here is a link to an excellent Wikipedia article that explains the diversity and impact of Public Policy in our lives
(1/8)en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_po… During my 25 years of service as the CEO of the medical regulatory agency in Saskatchewan I became acutely sensitive to how the agency's policies impacted patients & their families. I established procedures to increase public engagement in policy development (2/8)

In Saskatchewan, the economic story has become one of missed opportunities & stagnating growth. Under Scott Moe & the Sask Party, Saskatchewan not only boasts the lowest minimum wage in Canada but is one of the  only places where the average wage is actually shrinking (1/4) Last Place in Canada
Minimum Wage: At $14 per hour, Saskatchewan's minimum wage is the lowest in Canada, directly impacting thousands of workers struggling with the rising cost of living. (2/4)

As I provide supportive care to my wife in her struggle with pancreatic cancer, I get many opportunities to observe the HealthCare system in which I once worked.
I'd like to share some observations (1/8) To date I've been able to provide most of the supportive care my wife needs by myself at home. However she is registered with Palliative Home Care Services & and I am very impressed with the range of services they offer (2/8)

Key Audit Matters for @SKGov in 2023-24
Key audit matters are those matters that took a lot of audit effort because of the possibility of significant errors. They include matters that are complex and have a high degree of estimation. (1/6) Individual and corporate tax revenue, which provided $5.8 billion in revenue in 2023–24 and accounts for 28% of the Government’s revenues. Estimates of individual and corporate tax revenue involve several inputs and assumptions.(2/6)

When I reflect on events last week, this posting by @SaskParty on June 20 prompted me to think deeply about both positive & negatives forces in play in our province. As a preface to my commentary, please read this information about @carolynstrom
(1/6) carolynbroststrom.ca/blank-1

https://twitter.com/SaskParty/status/1803942601571340543

In this article about her history, her values and her goals in life, Carolyn explains what has prompted her to seek election as an MLA. She explains that, as a Registered Nurse, she is used to advocating for people and experience would be an asset in the Legislature (2/6)

The recent media reports about very low occupancy in Saskatchewan hospitals & subsequent acknowledgement of flawed data driving these reports raise some interesting questions about governance & management of healthcare services in our province (1/12) When I and two other Saskatchewan citizens recommended transition to pan-provincial governance & management of our healthcare services , there were 13 Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) with Boards, CEOs & senior management teams (2/12)

Today, on Father's Day, I took some time to remember my father, Aldred Kendel. He was born in 1911 and married my mother, Alma Welke, in 1935. I was their third child born on May 24, 1946. We grew up on a small farm about 15 miles north east of Langenburg, Sask
(1/12) Though my father had no formal education beyond Grade 8, he was a brilliantly creative man. He taught himself how to weld and used this skill to build many impressible things including some of his own farm equipment and many household gadgets (2/12)

A primer on effective regulation of professionals
For each profession, the provincial government adopts legislation creating a regulatory agency. It also adopts regulations under that legislation (1/7) For example, The Medical Profession Act, 1981 is the enabling legislation that establishes the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan as the regulatory authority for the medical profession. (2/7)

If you are concerned about @SKGov funding of unregulated "teachers" , read this:
FOR THE SAKE OF STUDENTS
A REPORT PREPARED BY DR. DENNIS KENDEL ON CURRENT AND FUTURE TEACHER REGULATION IN THE PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN SEPTEMBER 2013

@CateSask (1/6)saskatchewan.ca/-/media/news-a… Prior to the implementation of recommendations in my report, the STF served concurrently in advocacy & regulatory roles for teachers in Sask. This created conflicts of interest. I recommended that these roles be vested in distinct agencies as they are for doctors (2/6)

Saskatchewan’s Legislative Assembly Act, section 76.3, explicitly states that no person shall bring any weapon into the Legislative Assembly building or its precincts.

https://twitter.com/DennisKendel/status/1796964822996918301

This prohibition applies to members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), staff, visitors and security personnel, unless they have been authorized by the speaker to carry weapons for security purposes. The penalties include fines, imprisonment or a combination of both.

Could nurse practitioners fill the primary care gap? - The Globe and Mail theglobeandmail.com/canada/article… In Saskatchewan, most NPs are employed by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) where they provide publicly-funded services at no charge to the patient. However there are some NPs who work privately and bill patients directly for their services (1/4)

@AlexanderQuon @IJFMedia I want to thank @AlexanderQuon & @zakvescera for their persistence in obtaining & publicly sharing information about the failure of @SKGov to follow expert medical advice that might have saved many lives.
I will share some additional perspectives (1/15) @AlexanderQuon @IJFMedia @zakvescera @SKGov Most physicians focus on the health of individual people and medical treatment of them when they are ill.
Medical specialists in Public Health focus on the health of the entire population in a defined region (2/15)

The recently ratified funding agreement between the Government of Saskatchewan & the Saskatchewan Medical Association will create potential for significant enhancements in primary healthcare (1/8) It will create opportunities for family physicians to transition from Fee-For-Service compensation to compensation models like Capitation. This will be good news for recently qualified family doctors who just want to be funded for practicing , not running a business (2/8)

The role of teachers in our society is no less vital than the role of doctors.
@SKGov has reached a tentative agreement with @SMA_docs for physicians but has not reached an agreement with @SaskTeachersFed for teachers.
Why might that be? (1/10) When all physician services became publicly funded in Saskatchewan on July 1, 1962 most physicians went on strike for 23 days providing only life saving services. The strike was ended through mediation led by Lord Taylor from the UK (2/10)

Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program (CRISP) Situation Report: January 05, 2024 (Reporting Period December 17- December 30, 2023) (1/7) In the last two weeks, four COVID-19 deaths were reported.
There were four influenza-associated deaths reported in this two-week reporting period. (2/7)