Premier Moe described Thursday’s layoffs at Evraz in Regina as “devastating” and “absolutely terrible” when speaking to reporters at the legislature rotunda.

Since the government received news of the lost jobs, Moe said the government has stepped up to offer help for the affected workers.

“We’ve offered the supports of our rapid response teams to help work through any applications or supports that may ultimately be available,” explained the premier. “We’ll be reaching out as well to continue with the support for this industry and the industry that it serves.”

Moe added that his government will make efforts to support opportunities to get laid off employees back to work as soon as possible. He continued by saying it’s unfortunate this will impact workers and families during the pandemic and right before the holidays.

Meili hopes the response teams will “be more than just a few phone calls” and that the government will provide active financial support.

The NDP leader mentioned how this is a complete failure by the provincial government and that Premier Moe should have used Saskatchewan steel in replacement lines for SaskEnergy to help avoid this situation.

“[Moe] didn’t even work this summer to try and make sure it was Canadian steel in that northern Alberta line and he just let it go ahead with steel coming in from out of the country,” suggested Meili. “He should still be pushing TC Energy and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to make sure that line gets built with Canadian steel.”

(CKRM)