Gray, Thorn say NDP attack unfair, unwarranted
Mayor, CBA President push back after NDP says MLA hasn’t been pushing for CT Scanner:
June 12, 2025, 10:50 am
Nicole Taylor
The mayor of Moosomin and the president of the CBA say allegations made by the NDP that Moosomin-Montmartre MLA Kevin Weedmark has abandoned the push for a CT Scanner in Moosomin are unfair, unwarranted, and unfortunate.
NDP Deputy Leader Vicky Mowat raised the issue in question period May 15 and issued a news release the same day claiming that the local MLA had made a U-turn on his support for a CT Scanner in Moosomin.
Thorn says Weedmark working with community
CBA President Tyler Thorn said the NDP claim isn’t true, and Weedmark continues to work with the community on the proposal. “Prior to the election, Kevin was obviously a big part of the lobby effort for the CT scanner in Moosomin, and since the election when he won the seat as MLA, Kevin put together a face-to face, in-person meeting with Minister Carr and Minister Cockrill at the Legislature in Regina,” Thorn said. “That was an important step, we were able to sit down in March and discuss the CT scan machine with them. More recently, Kevin, myself and mayor Murray Gray sat down with a couple of senior officials from SHA. One was the Provincial Director for Facilities and one was the Provincial Director for Imaging. The three of us met here at the Southeast Integrated Care Centre to discuss if and where the CT machine would fit within the existing footprint of the hospital. So he’s playing a major role in moving that project forward. The fact that he was able to get us that meeting was important to us, and the second notable thing was he had a number of other things on his schedule the day that we met with SHA officials here at the hospital in Moosomin, but he made the time to travel out from Regina—he made the two hour drive to make sure he was here for it. Those two things come to mind that there is an effort by Kevin to move this project ahead.”
What does Thorn think of the NDP’s comments?
“I think the comments were unfair and unfounded,” he said. “I think it’s a little unfair moreso because we have worked closely with Kevin on this so we have seen what happened behind the scenes.
“I think in general, the last few years, the Sask Party government has been very fair with the region of Moosomin and there are a number of examples. The airport being one. We have great support from the provincial governments to help fund that project, working with local governments, Nutrien, and the local private sector to try and get that built and we are seeing the results.
Saskatchewan Air Ambulance service is landing here on a fairly regular basis to get patients the care they need. Another example would be the daycare. We have got 90 new daycare spots approved and have received funding from the provincial government over the last year or so. That project is moving forward and we will see more on that in the coming weeks. The third one is the Number 8 highway between Moosomin and Rocanville that fell apart two winters ago when there was a lot of freeze-thaw and the road got beat up a bit. The province was quick to react with the temporary repairs and then a plan to get that road rebuilt, which we will see here shortly. I think our region has a very good working relationship with the Saskatchewan Party government and we should say thanks once in a while for the support that we get.”
Mayor says NDP comments unfair, unfortunate
Moosomin’s mayor also has an opinion of Weedmark’s involvement in the CT Scanner proposal that is the opposite of the view expressed by the NDP opposition.
“We have been working together to get this project to come to fruition for quite some time. In fact, we recently met with officials from the health authority that were here to discuss the logistics of how we could fit it into the SEICC facility, we have never really stopped working on it at all, the effort is still there from all parties including Kevin.
“Kevin and I are constantly in communication about lots of different issues and projects and such, and so probably every couple of weeks we have talked about it since he was elected six months ago, so we have never really quit working on it for sure.”
The mayor said he was surprised by the NDP’s comments.
“I am surprised,” he said. “Kevin started out working on this from the community position, and now because he has a role within the government, it puts higher expectations on him because he is now representing the government as a Legislative Secretary of Health, he has to view the project from both sides, but I don’t think that has changed his effort in any way, shape, or form. Having to view the project from both sides, I don’t think his position has changed.
“I think those comments are an attack on Kevin, and his position within the government. I am, sure it blindsided Kevin, it blindsided me.
“It is unfortunate and I would deem it to be unfair.
“Kevin has helped arrange meetings with the ministry and has been there at those meetings. At the end of the day, it is not his decision solely, but his efforts in order to try and get it is evident to me and always has been.”
NDP claim promise broken
While Thorn and Gray say they have been working with Weedmark and the government on initial investigation into how a CT Scanner could be accommodated in Moosomin, the NDP issued a statement saying Weedmark and the government broke a promise on the CT Scanner, although they can’t point to the promise.
NDP critic for Rural Health Meara Conway was asked what promise was broken.
She referred to the government’s stated commitment to work to find a path forward for the CT Scanner.
But Gray and Thorn said that is exactly what is happening with MLA Weedmark’s involvement.
She also claimed that the CT Scanner was announced in the 2024 budget but it was not.
The statements made around the time of the 2024 budget but not in the budget were that the government would work with the community to try to find a path forward for a CT Scanner.
“It was very clearly announced as part of last year’s budget,” Conway said.
The NDP was asked to provide documents to back up that assertion and could not.
Conway said Weedmark has not been as vocal about the CT Scanner since the election.
“We know that prior to being elected, MLA Weedmark was quite passionate in terms of the case he was making for the CT scanner,” she said. “I think of a July 2021 oped that appeared in your paper where he basically laid out the case for this and now it is pretty quiet on the home front. We saw the passionate oped from Mr. Weedmark back in 2021 and nothing since.”
Weedmark responds
Weedmark says he is advocating for projects in the riding within the government, just as he once advocated for them from outside government.
“Everyone who knows me knows that I work hard for my communities and for what I believe in,” he said.
“Obviously as a member of government I advocate for the needs of my communities, and I advocate for them strongly. In health care, projects like the Grenfell Nursing Home and the Moosomin CT Scanner are priorities for my communities so they are priorities for me, and I advocate for those within government.
“On the CT Scanner, there have now been discussions with the Ministers, the town, the foundation and the CBA, and SHA has been out to Moosomin to start the very initial investigation into whether a potential CT Scanner could be accommodated at the SEICC, as Minister Cockrill mentioned in the Legislature—that needs to be done before anything else, determining the viability and cost of a potential scanner, determining whether it would even be possible in that building.
“I had to leave the legislative session early one day a couple of weeks ago so I could be in Moosomin to meet with the SHA officials and local officials when SHA was out to look over the facility.
“So the NDP claims are ridiculous. I think most people in this area who know me will see those NDP claims and attacks for what they are.
“In their news release the NDP claimed I have made a U-turn on my support for the CT Scanner.
“Nothing could be farther from the truth. That statement from the NDP is simply not true.
“Fortunately the people of Moosomin-Montmartre are intelligent people who will see this NDP attack for what it is, and will see right through their ridiculous claims.”
Conway has no response to comments from Thorn, Gray
When Conway was read statements from Thorn and Gray calling the NDP attack unfair, unwarranted, and unfortunate and asked to respond, she didn’t respond directly to the criticism.
“If there are discussions going on behind the scenes, obviously that is good news,” she said. “If Mr. Weedmark is able to accomplish what the MLA before him tried to do and didn’t quite get there, that’s a good news story, but as you have pointed out yourself these are all behind the scenes meetings, this isn’t something that we have been notified about.”
Despite Conway claiming she was unaware of any meetings, Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill had the fact that the SHA has been to Moosomin recently, looking into space available at the SEICC in Moosomin, in response to an NDP question in the Legislature on the Moosomin CT Scanner on May 15.
“I just want to recognize our member from Moosomin-Montmartre does an incredible job as the Legislative Secretary for Health, not only representing the needs and concerns of his constituency but touring facilities right across the province and engaging with front-line health care workers in all regions of the province,” Cockrill said in the Legislature.
“When it comes to Moosomin, Mr. Speaker, we’re continuing to engage with that community. The Saskatchewan Health Authority recently had a team in the centre, evaluating the space, understanding what’s available for space. Mr. Speaker, it’s my commitment that myself; the member for Moosomin-Montmartre; and my counterpart, the Minister for Mental Health and Addictions and Rural and Remote Health, will continue engaging with the community in Moosomin to see what options are available to improve access to care for patients in that part of the province.
“Discussions and engagement are ongoing with the community of Moosomin. We have an excellent MLA from that community, the member for Moosomin-Montmartre, who continues to advocate for his community. We’re in ongoing discussions with the community. And let me just say, the community of Moosomin has been an important partner on so many important projects, Mr. Speaker.”
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