MBC Host: Danielle Dufour

The 2026-27 Saskatchewan Provincial Budget allocated $673.7 million to support mental health and addictions programs.

“That is a status-quo budget,” said Member of the Legislative Assembly, NDP Betty Nippi-Albright, the shadow minister for mental health and addictions. “That’s for their operational, their existing programs and services, and we know that there’s been an increased demand for mental health and substance use harm supports.”

She recently brought forward a petition to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly stating the following: Saskatchewan has the highest rate of suicide among the provinces; Indigenous people are dying by suicide at a rate of 4.3 times higher than non-Indigenous people; Saskatchewan continues to break records in overdose deaths from drug toxicity; and one in four youth in Saskatchewan have reported engaging in self-harm and have considered suicide in the past year.

“It’s the lack of investment from the Sask. Party for mental health supports and services,” said Nippi-Albright. “They’ve been undercutting mental health for years, and we’re seeing the results of that underfunding.”

Nippi-Albright stated the Police Crisis Team and Wellness Buses have requested additional government funding and “received zero funds.”

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