Saskatchewan citizens continue to suffer without publicly owned, accessible transportation. STC was killed by the provincial government in 2017, leaving thousands of our citizens stranded across the province. This story was submitted anonymously to protect those involved from retribution by the Saskatchewan government for speaking out.
June 22, 2023
My disabled son lives in a small town in Saskatchewan. He needs constant access to medical services that are not available in said town. His current physician is in another town an hour away from him. He also needs services from Saskatoon medical and dental places.
So, every time he needs to attend a service, I drive an hour to get to him, then an hour back to each service, then an hour to take him back home, and an hour to get me back home. SAID pays $25 for each trip like that, for gas. That payment has to go to his father, as I am on SAID, (he puts that fuel into the vehicle, as it is his vehicle), and they told me I couldn’t get payment for that. Each trip costs about $40 for gas. So, anywhere between 4-5 hours of my time, plus inadequate reimbursement for fuel, plus wear and tear on the vehicle I drive, is costing me more than what I can afford. So far this month, there have been 6 trips like the one described above.
Also, my son’s prescriptions come from a Saskatoon pharmacy, which have to be refilled every month. There is no pharmacy where he lives, and if I cannot make a trip to take the medications, he goes without until I can. One of his medications is for extremely high blood pressure, which is literally deadly. We are trying to get him housing in the city, but it is slow. PLUS, then his physician would be two hours away, as there are no physicians available in Saskatoon. (We went to Evergreen Clinic, to see if they would take him on, but the clinic refused him on sight.)
Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) Stories 