Canadian military being deployed to Saskatchewan

The Canadian Armed Forces is being deployed in Saskatchewan to help with COVID-19 case counts and near-capacity ICUs across the province.

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair took to Twitter to announce the assistance Friday evening.

“We have approved a request for federal assistance to support the people of Saskatchewan. We will always be there to support Canadians, and will have more to say on the situation in Saskatchewan shortly,” Blair said on Twitter.

We will always be there to support Canadians, and will have more to say on the situation in SK shortly.

— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) October 23, 2021

Blair also said the Canadian Red Cross would also be providing “other health resources.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also tweeted the deployment of armed forces Friday.

“As we work to finish the fight against COVID-19, we’re going to make sure people across the country have the support they need to stay safe. Saskatchewanians, we’ve got your back,” he said.

Saskatchewan officially requested assistance from the federal government last week, but was unable to confirm if any support was arriving from Ottawa during its technical briefings throughout the week.

Health officials reported 12 new COVID-19-related deaths on Friday, making it the third-deadliest day the province has seen since the start of the pandemic. There are currently 308 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Saskatchewan.

Starting next week, as many as three ICU patients will transfer from Saskatchewan to hospitals in Ontario each day. Six COVID-19 ICU patients were moved earlier this week. Three more are expected over the weekend.