Saskatchewan health minister says large rallies ‘have to stop’

In the wake of at least three so-called “freedom rallies” this past weekend, Saskatchewan’s health minister isn’t holding back his distaste.

“These gatherings are ridiculous. They have to stop. I understand it’s your right to assemble, I understand that it’s important to you to express your opinions, but getting together in mass gatherings — whether it be outside or inside — are causing problems in our health-care system,” Paul Merriman said Monday.

He pointed to a rally in Prince Albert held April 17 that sparked an alert for an increased risk of exposure. Someone attended the rally, where many were without a mask, when they were infectious.

Merriman said there is one way to make sure such gatherings don’t impact the health-care system, and that’s by not having them.

“This is not the time or the place to be doing this. COVID is still here, it is in all corners of the province and, as we’ve seen many, many times throughout this, one bad situation can turn into multiple cases that can turn into dozens of cases, and then all of a sudden we’ve got people in the hospital,” said Merriman.

There is another rally scheduled for Regina on May 8 which has at least one speaker from out of province advertised on the flyer. Merriman said travelling across the country is a bad idea in and of itself, but doing it and then attending multiple large gatherings is worse.

“If you’re coming from outside the province to protest what we’re doing in the province, maybe you should stay home,” Merriman said.

Merriman said his office isn’t looking at increasing fines for violating the public health orders, but it is looking at making sure people are fined when they need to be.