Sask. health minister attends first COVID-19 media briefing in nearly a month, defends absence
On Monday, Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman attended his first COVID-19 media briefing in nearly a month.
The briefings, streamed digitally from the legislature in Regina, provide an update on the latest pandemic information in the province and offer an opportunity for members of the media to question leaders.
Merriman last attended a COVID-19 press conference on Dec. 30, 2021.
During the media availability, Merriman was asked about his absence.
“Just because I'm not in front of the camera doesn't mean that I'm not working,” Merriman said.
“I’ve been working diligently.”
Merriman said he has been available for “media callbacks” to answer journalists’ questions.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health was unable to say how many interviews he has done and with which news outlets, but that the office “fields a significant number of media requests” each week.
“I am available all the time to be able to make sure I’m conveying the information,” Merriman said at the conference.
Following Monday's provincial press conference, Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili said Merriman has been doing “an extremely bad job.”
“He is constantly hiding from scrutiny. He fails to do his job over and over again,” the leader of the official opposition said.
Meili said it was “really striking” the province's chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab also wasn’t present for the COVID-19 update.
During the briefing, Premier Scott Moe defended Saskatchewan’s move not to add more public health orders. He said the Omicron variant is going to spread regardless of stricter rules.
“I believe what we saw today was a political message that could not possibly sit beside an honest public health message,” Meili said.
Moe stood up for Merriman during the news conference. He said Merriman has been busy working at the Saskatoon Cabinet Office.
“I would just like to take the opportunity to thank him for the effort that he's made not just through Christmas and January but throughout his time as health minister,” Moe said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.