Premier Scott Moe took to Twitter on Saturday to blast protesters who showed up at the Regina home of Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.
Moe described the protesters as a “group of idiots” and said their actions were “unacceptable, sickening and wrong.”
The Regina Police Service (RPS) responded to reports of a protest at Shahab’s residence on Saturday at around 2:30 p.m. According to a RPS media release, police stayed on scene until protestors left at roughly 3:30 p.m.
Police say they are still reviewing the situation to determine if further action is required.
“To those that did this — you should be ashamed of yourselves and your actions,” Moe wrote Saturday evening. “After months of spending virtually every waking hour working tirelessly to protect the health and well being of Saskatchewan people through this pandemic, this is the last thing Dr. Shahab deserves.
“As premier, I know some will disagree with the actions and decisions of the government,” Moe continued. “But, disagreeing with decisions made by our government gives no one the right to harass a dedicated public servant and his family.”
Regina Police and RCMP have asked to ensure Shahab’s immediate safety, and the provincial government is currently evaluating long-term security options to ensure Shahab and his family remain safe.
Moe urged police to investigate any potential breaches of the law or provincial public health orders and press charges accordingly.
Moe said anyone who doesn’t like the government’s COVID policy should email him at scott.moe@gov.sk.ca, or call their local MLA.
NDP leader Ryan Meili also blasted the protestors on Twitter, calling their decision “incredibly stupid and dangerous” in a post early Sunday morning.
“Dr. Shahab is doing a very difficult and important job trying to protect us all from COVID-19,” Meili wrote. “He deserves our respect and support, not this unconscionable abuse.”
This isn’t the first time protestors have targeted Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer. On Jan. 13, the province provided a small security detail to escort Shahab to his car after a group of anti-mask protestors followed him from the door of the legislative building to the parking lot. The province later released a statement saying the security detail was purely for precautionary measures.
