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Paul Merriman

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Paul Merriman
Member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly
for Saskatoon Silverspring-Sutherland
Saskatoon Sutherland (2011–2016)
In office
November 7, 2011 – October 1, 2024
Preceded byJoceline Schriemer
Succeeded byHugh Gordon
Leader of the Government in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
In office
August 23, 2016 – August 30, 2017
PremierBrad Wall
Preceded byKen Cheveldayoff
Succeeded byGreg Brkich
Personal details
BornToronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partySaskatchewan Party
Residence(s)Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
ProfessionManagement

Paul Merriman is a Canadian politician. He is a former member of Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan (MLA), representing the electoral district of Saskatoon Silverspring-Sutherland from 2011 to 2024 as a member of the Saskatchewan Party. Merriman was a cabinet minister in the governments of both Brad Wall and Scott Moe.

Early life and career

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Merriman is the son of Ted Merriman, who was himself a Saskatchewan Party MLA from 2003 to 2007.[1] Merriman was born and raised in Toronto. The Merriman family moved to Saskatchewan in 1988, and Paul Merriman has worked in Saskatoon since 1994. He worked for SaskEnergy for nearly a decade, and before entering politics was the executive director of the Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre, where he prioritized cutting costs.[2] He has also been a small business owner.

Political career

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Merriman was acclaimed as the Saskatchewan Party candidate for Saskatoon Sutherland ahead of the 2011 election after incumbent Joceline Schriemer announced that she would not be running again.[1] He was elected in the November general election.[2] Merriman was re-elected in the 2016 election in the newly established riding of Saskatoon Silverspring-Sutherland, and re-elected in 2020.[3]

Merriman was named Minister of Social Services in Brad Wall's government in 2017, a role he carried over to Scott Moe's government when Moe succeeded Wall as Premier in 2018. During the federal government's efforts to work with provinces to roll out national childcare in 2019, Merriman was criticized for comments he made stating that provincial ministers should have been able to have meetings with the federal government without Indigenous representatives present, whom Merriman characterized as "lobbyists".[4] In response, Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde wrote Merriman a letter, explaining that he was also an elected representative. Merriman later said he regretted the use of the term lobbyist.[5] That same year, Merriman introduced reforms to Saskatchewan's welfare programs. The reform replaced existing programs with a new program called Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS).[6] Merriman stated that the reform was meant to reduce bureaucracy, increase independence, and prioritize "motivational interviewing" on the part of social workers.[7] The government also stopped direct rent payments on behalf of program recipients. The reforms were criticized by anti-poverty advocates for actually increasing bureaucracy and offering inadequate support to recipients.[7][8]

In November 2020, Merriman was named Minister of Health during the province's second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the province's case numbers were rising, Merriman called them "manageable" and downplayed the need for further public health measures, signalling a prioritization of access to vaccines.[9] Beginning in late 2020, the province's health care system became severely strained by COVID, ultimately resulting in the province signing agreements to transfer intensive care unit (ICU) patients out-of-province in late 2021.[10] Merriman was criticized for a lack of availability. In April 2021, Merriman and Moe declined an invitation to tour a Regina ICU; hospital staff had issued the invitation, stating that "If only the leadership would come and see what's really going on here, they would understand what we're dealing with." In response, Merriman stated that he did not think it would be "appropriate" to accept the invitation.[11] In the summer and fall of 2021, Merriman stopped attending press conferences for more than a month, leading to calls for his resignation, although he claimed to have been working with his staff during this absence.[12][13] After a 2023 Global News investigation showed that the province's chief medical health officer, Saqib Shahab, had urged the government to implement further public health measures in the fall of 2021 to ease the strain on the health care system—something Shahab had publicly hinted himself at the time[14]—Merriman declined an interview but stated in question period only that the province had acted on Shahab's advice.[15][16]

In August 2023, Moe shuffled his cabinet and named Merriman the new Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety.[17]

Merriman was defeated in the 2024 provincial election by Hugh Gordon of the New Democratic Party.[18]

Personal life

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Merriman is married to Leanne Durand, and the couple have four children.[19]

Electoral record

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2024 Saskatchewan general election: Saskatoon Silverspring
Party Candidate Votes %
New Democratic Hugh Gordon 4,435 51.43
Saskatchewan Paul Merriman 3,999 46.37
Green Jackie Hanson 190 2.20
Total 8,624 100.00
Source: Elections Saskatchewan[20]
2020 Saskatchewan general election: Saskatoon Silverspring-Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes %
Saskatchewan Paul Merriman 4,272 59.07
New Democratic Tajinder Grewal 2,737 37.85
Green Jaime Fairley 223 3.08
Total 7,232 100.0
Source: Elections Saskatchewan[21]
2016 Saskatchewan general election: Saskatoon Silverspring-Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes %
Saskatchewan Paul Merriman 4,482 63.69
New Democratic Zaigham Kayani 2,003 28.46
Liberal James Gorin 303 4.31
Green Evangeline V.K. Godron 127 1.80
Progressive Conservative Jeff Wortman 122 1.73
Total 7,037 100.0  
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division; Elections Saskatchewan[22]
2011 Saskatchewan general election: Saskatoon Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes %
Saskatchewan Paul Merriman 3,994 58.21
New Democratic Naveed Anwar 2,376 34.63
Green Larry Waldinger 305 4.45
Liberal Kaleb Jeffries 186 2.71
Total 7,037 100.0  
Source: Saskatchewan Archives - Election Results by Electoral Division

Cabinet positions

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Saskatchewan provincial government of Scott Moe
Cabinet posts (3)
Predecessor Office Successor
Christine Tell Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety
August 29, 2023 – October 1, 2024 		Tim McLeod
Jim Reiter Minister of Health
November 9, 2020 – August 29, 2023 		Everett Hindley
cont'd from Wall Ministry Minister of Social Services
February 2, 2018 – November 9, 2020 		Lori Carr
Saskatchewan provincial government of Brad Wall
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Tina Beaudry-Mellor Minister of Social Services
August 30, 2017 – February 2, 2018 		cont'd into Moe Ministry

References

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  1. ^ a b Wood, James (2010-08-04). "Paul Merriman running for Sask. Party in Sutherland constituency". The StarPhoenix. Global News. Archived from the original on 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  2. ^ a b "Paul Merriman, MLA Saskatoon Sutherland". Saskatchewan Party. Archived from the original on 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  3. ^ "Sask. Party's Paul Merriman re-elected in Saskatoon Silverspring-Sutherland riding". CTV News Saskatoon. 2020-10-26. Archived from the original on 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  4. ^ Taylor, Stephanie (2019-04-26). "National chief concerned with Sask. minister's 'lobbyist' comment". CBC News. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  5. ^ Hunter, Adam (2019-04-29). "'I regret saying that': Sask. social services minister calls 'lobbyists' comment inappropriate". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  6. ^ "Sask. announces new social assistance program to replace 2 others". CBC News. 2019-06-18. Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  7. ^ a b White-Crummey, Arthur (2019-06-18). "Welfare changes prize independence, but critic calls rates 'a pittance'". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  8. ^ Silverthorn, Colleen (2021-10-27). "Saskatchewan's new income support program doesn't give people enough money to cover rent: social worker". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2021-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  9. ^ White-Crummey, Arthur (2020-11-09). "Merriman takes over at Health Ministry as COVID numbers rise". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  10. ^ Blakley, Janelle (2021-10-22). "COVID-19 ICU admissions force Sask. into health care 'red zone'". CTV News Regina. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  11. ^ Solomon, Michaela; Mantyka, Wayne (2021-04-19). "Sask. premier, health minister reject invitation to tour Regina ICU". CTV News Regina. Archived from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  12. ^ Giles, David (2021-09-29). "Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman defends actions as COVID-19 surges in province". Global News. Archived from the original on 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  13. ^ Kliem, Theresa (2021-09-30). "Sask. health minister says he takes responsibility, but stops short of direct apology". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  14. ^ Quon, Alexander; Anton, Jessie (2021-10-26). "Dr. Shahab says pleas from health officers in line with his own recommendations to government". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  15. ^ Dove, Nathaniel (2023-03-17). "Saskatchewan government emails warned of health-care collapse ahead of COVID patient transfer". Global News. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  16. ^ Dove, Nathaniel (2023-03-20). "Saskatchewan health minister insists 'we acted' on COVID-19 advice". Global News. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  17. ^ Anton, Jessie; Hunter, Adam (2023-08-29). "Duncan, Merriman among Sask. MLAs moved to new portfolios in cabinet shuffle". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-09-05. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  18. ^ Prisciak, David; Postey, Drew (2024-10-28). "Here are the upsets of Saskatchewan's 2024 election". CTV News Regina. Archived from the original on 2024-11-13. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  19. ^ "Honourable Paul Merriman". Saskatchewan.ca. Archived from the original on 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  20. ^ "2024 General Election Official Results". Elections Saskatchewan. 2024-11-09. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  21. ^ "A Report on the Twenty-Ninth General Election, Volume I: Statement of Votes" (PDF). Elections Saskatchewan. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  22. ^ "2016 General Election Results". Elections Saskatchewan. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
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