‘Absolutely offensive’: Meili and Moe address anti-mask protesters at Regina hospital

Premier Scott Moe and official Opposition leader Ryan Meili both expressed their disagreement and outrage at anti-lockdown and anti-mask protesters outside Regina General Hospital on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, 34 COVID-19 patients are currently in intensive care units in Regina hospitals.

Meili, who has family at the hospital for non-COVID-19 reasons, called the protests “ridiculous”; and “absolutely offensive”;.

Read more: Regina COVID ICU rooms move to double occupancy

“What does it feel like if you’re leaving the hospital, visiting a loved one in the ICU and then you go out and see these idiots with signs saying COVID isn’t real?”; Meili questioned.

Moe echoed those statements and told reporters that he thought the protests outside the hospital were “highly inappropriate.”;

“We have families that are going in and out of that hospital to see their loved ones, many of those, their loved ones are struggling with COVID right here and now,”; Moe said.

Moe encouraged protesters in a “fairly small”; group to come to the steps of legislature instead to protest, calling it a much more appropriate location than the hospital.

Well-known protester scheduled to arrive in Saskatchewan this week

According to social media posts, well-known anti-lockdown protester Christopher Saccoccia, who goes by the name Chris Sky, will be travelling through Saskatchewan this weekend.

An image posted to Chris Sky's Facebook page.

A poster indicates that Saccoccia will be travelling through Maple Creek, Sask., from Alberta. Maple Creek is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak after around 100 people gathered for an outdoor party. As of last week, at least 40 COVID-19 cases had been linked to the event.

Saccoccia will be heading through Maple Creek on Saturday and then arriving in Regina on Sunday at an undetermined time and location.

“I don’t think this is any time for someone to be travelling halfway across the country, no less, to come in and advocate for Saskatchewan people to be not wearing masks, not following public health orders and doing it in an area where we just had the very first few cases of what is a maybe proved to be quite a bit more challenging virus,”; Moe said about Saccocia.

Meili was very vocal about his outrage on the possible event.

Read more: 2 charged by Toronto police for allegedly violating Quarantine Act after attending non-mask rally

“He’s going to Maple Creek? When we have P.1 variants showing up in the southwest area of the province? He’s going to Maple Creek, where we had a major outbreak after a party? What an idiot. He should stay the hell away from Saskatchewan,”; Meili told reporters Wednesday.