Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck says the premier should have addressed conspiracy theories and defended Saskatchewan health-care workers at a recent town hall. June 12, 2024 (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

By Lisa Schick/CKOM News Staff

Sask. NDP upset with premier’s conspiracy response at town hall

Jun 12, 2024 | 3:03 PM

Conspiracy theories abound online, but recently Premier Scott Moe was faced with several of them at a town hall in Speers, which is part of his constituency – and the Sask. NDP doesn’t like how he handled it.

A video posted online shows Moe onstage for about two hours while people lobbed questions at him from behind the camera. Many of the questions are what a politician might expect, about health care and crime, but more than a few were predicated on popular online conspiracies.

In response to a couple of the questions, Moe said he would look into it or read information provided – in one case saying he didn’t know how long it would take him when asked for a timeline on his response. Moe also responded to another question by agreeing with one aspect and then taking his answer in a different direction.

Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck thinks Moe should have addressed the conspiracies, especially those that included the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and health-care workers.

“As leaders we have a responsibility to show leadership, to not nod and smile – sometimes you just have to say no, ‘no that’s not a thing. That’s not a thing that Saskatchewan health-care workers or the SHA were involved in.’ That’s fairly simple, but we didn’t see the premier do that,” said Beck.

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She said it’s not good when a leader or premier can’t say no, can’t find a path forward, or when they’re confronted by a constituent at town hall and they “fold like a cheap tent.”

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When you don’t confront such theories, Beck said you embolden them and allow space for them, leading to health-care workers being yelled at when they’re trying to provide care in emergency rooms.

“The best thing is to say, ‘you know what, that’s not a thing that happened in this province, I trust our health-care workers,’” said Beck.

In response, Moe’s office said he’d been invited to the town hall by locals in Speers and that he takes every opportunity to talk with his constituents. The statement said what Moe was doing at the town hall was “listening to and responding to constituents’ concerns.”

A poster advertises the event as a meet with Scott Moe, and as giving people the opportunity to hear about their concerns from their MLA, Moe.

The premier’s office also said he has not directed the SHA or health-care employees to look into the World Health Organization flu treaty, chemtrails, or Chinese bioweapons.

Moe was in Toronto Tuesday. 980 CJME has sent more questions about the town hall to his office but hadn’t heard back by publication.