Former Battlefords NDP candidate commends Meili for being a strong advocate

“He is not just going to go away,” Stewart said. “He’s going to continue to be a great advocate.”

Meili’s resignation comes just days after the election of the Saskatchewan Party’s Jim Lemaigre in a byelection in the northern riding of Athabasca. Before that, the NDP held the riding for more than two decades.

Stewart admits that it has been challenging for the party since the provincial election in 2020.

“We didn’t do as well as we had hoped,” she said. “I can’t imagine how it has been for Ryan as the leader, trying to lead the opposition, and work with a government through a pandemic.”

Stewart said the provincial government didn’t work with the opposition in a collaborative way during the pandemic, which has also been a struggle.

“[Meili] has done what he can do, and now he is going to step aside and see who else is going to step up to lead the party, as the party gets ready for the next election and to build a stronger opposition,” Stewart said.

During his resignation speech at his Saskatoon constituency office Friday, Meili, who has served four years as NDP Leader, said his only regret is that his party wasn’t able to better urge the provincial government to do more about the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We weren’t able to force this government to take COVID more seriously, to act to protect people’s lives, to protect our health system and protect people’s jobs,” Meili said.

When contacted by battlefordsNOW, Battlefords MLA Jeremy Cockrill was not immediately available for comment.

– With files from CKOM

Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow

by Angela Brown

Former Battlefords NDP candidate commends Meili for being a strong advocate

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