REGINA - The MLA for the Battlefords Jeremy Cockrill likes what he sees from the 2023-24 provincial budget.
“To be able to invest like we are in this budget in a number of key areas in terms of healthcare, education, supports for the most vulnerable in our province, infrastructure, and the number of capital projects around the province... to do all that and then pay $1 billion off of provincial debt, that’s a huge budget that we are certainly very proud of as a government," said Cockrill, in speaking to SASKTODAY.ca last Thursday.
The budget, with a $1 billion surplus and no new or increased taxes, was presented in the legislature last Wednesday by Minister of Finance Donna Harpauer. Cockrill made it known he thought the budget addressed a number of priority areas while also being fiscally responsible.
He pointed to the government "investing where there's pressures certainly where we see them, but also being fiscally responsible and making sure that we are reducing costs in the long term for the people of Saskatchewan.”
Cockrill was particularly interested in the budget both because of his role as MLA for the Battlefords and also as Minister of Highways, responsible for highways and roads across the province.
From a Battlefords perspective the biggest news was the commitment to funding for a new Battlefords District Care Centre.
“You could not wipe the smile off my face,” said Cockrill about the budget confirmation.
“I’ve been kind of holding it in for a number of weeks now, but having the planning dollars in place for the replacement of the Battlefords District Care Centre - that’s something I’ve been working on ever since I’ve been elected in 2020, knowing that facility that has served Battlefords and region for so long, housing our elderly family members. It’s an older, aging building. The staff there do incredible work to keep that facility going and do and excellent job. Our government making a decision to start planning on a new battlefield industry care special.
For that reason, Cockrill called the budget presentation an exciting day. He said Battleford town councillor Kevin Russell was there for the budget, along with several others from the Battlefords in the gallery.
It amounts to roughly $250,000 towards planning work. Cockrill said he has had ongoing conversations with Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie about the building for a while. He said he knows that the Ministry of Health and Saskatchewan Health Authority will be reaching out to the town in coming days to work closely with them on what that replacement looks like.
There is still plenty of work to be done on how many and what types of beds and where the site will be, but the indication from Cockrill is they will be working closely with the town of Battleford on that.
“The work there is just beginning, obviously, but to see the provincial government recognize that building as a provincial priority is really fantastic to see.”
Another highlight for Cockrill was the funding for the second crime reduction team in the Battlefords, something that had been talked about in the fall Throne Speech.
He said having that second provincially-funded Crime Reduction Team “is going to make a big difference right in the Town of Battleford, City of North Battleford and our surrounding region that our Battlefords RCMP detachment serves.”
Cockrill also welcomed the continued funding this year on the $14 million John Paul II Collegiate renovation and expansion capital project. Cockrell said that in his last conversations with Light of Christ School Division that they expect that project to be wrapped up this fall.
“We expect to finish that project this year, and really excited to see what John Paul II will look like when we’re all finished up there.”
As Minister of Highways, Cockrill also pointed to the commitments in the budget to upgrades on Saskatchewan highways and roads.
“Our government, we take a lot of pride in improving roughly or more than 1000 km of highways around the province each and every single year. Our capital budget is $422 million.”
A number of significant projects are planned around the province. The projects Cockrill points to include passing lanes on Highway 5 east of Saskatoon, twinning on Highway 6:just south of Regina on the bypass, and then again at the intersection of Highway 6 and 39 at the Corinne corner south of Regina.
There are major repavement projects happening on Hwy 2 and Hwy 33, and then hundreds of kilometers of crack sealing and surface preservation on highways throughout the province.
He said you can expect that crack sealing and surface preservation work on Hwy 16 and 40 west of the Battlefords this summer.
Cockrill noted that a key priority with the highways work that is happening this year is addressing safety concerns, and in addressing the most pressing needs.
“The challenge in highways is that with 26,000 km of highways all over the province, we have to be fairly strategic in how we spend those dollars. It’s important that we are very careful with how we spend those dollars on those types of projects that we do, so again we trying to dress areas where there’s concerns around safety. So intersections — this year is the last of a five year program in terms of improving safety around the province, that program was announced in the wake of the Humboldt bus crash. So over the last five years we’ve looked at every single major intersection across the province in adding turning lanes, acceleration lanes, lighting, signage. So that’s really a key thing for us in making sure the network is safe for drivers, whether you’re a commercial truck driver, whether you’re a just resident taking kids to hockey or dance or whatever, we want to make sure you get to where you’re going safely.
Cockrell also noted they are addressing infrastructure pressures in the number of areas of the province. He pointed to $6 million being added to the highway budget specifically for addressing the gravel highways north of Prince Albert to support the forestry industry, with major activity happening up there.
“A lot of those gravel highways need to be improved because of the increased traffic, and again some of the brush clearing along the highways just to make sure that those logging trucks and also recreational users using those routes can travel safely.”
Overall, Cockrill liked what he saw in the budget, pointing in particular to the increased social services spending and health care spending in the budget.
“On a provincial level we hear, I think, every single day that there are pressures on the healthcare system. Whether that be surgical or whether that be seeing a family doctor. Our ministers of Health have been working on our Health Human Resources Action Plan for a number of months now. With the incentives that we put in place, with the new training seats that we put in place through the Ministry of Advanced Education, we’re starting to see results already. But what this budget does is it continues to enhance those and puts that into our budget and it ensures that we’re going to continue attracting new workers to our healthcare sector. Which again, that relieves pressure on the system and makes sure that you and I or anyone else in Saskatchewan can access the services we expect and we deserve, quite frankly.”
Cockrill also pointed to the emphasis in the budget on health care capital.
“If you look at the number of the key infrastructure projects, look at health care again. The (Prince Albert) Victoria Hospital project continuing in a big way, ramping up in a big way this year, the Weyburn hospital advancing, and obviously a number of long-term care facilities around the province, whether that be Grenfell or La Ronge, those are really exciting to see,” said Cockrill.
“That’s what, I think, is exciting about this budget. Again, due to the strength of our economy, we can make investments in those areas to make life better for the people wherever they live. Regina, the Battlefords, Saskatoon, Maple Creek, La Ronge. That’s to me what stands out in this budget.”
As for the feedback from those who might say the spending in various areas is not enough, Cockrill defended the budget and in particular the decision to pay off $1 billion in debt. He said that move will save the province money in interest payments going forward.
"Speaking with the finance minister, budgets where you don't have a big surplus are a challenge, but I think she would say that budgets where you do have a surplus and a large surplus are even more challenging. I know the former Premier Brad Wall used to say that there's always more fence than there is paint. So again, our government's view as we have to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars... There's certainly voices out there that feel that we might've made more investments than we already did in certain areas, but I think we've done the fiscally prudent thing by working on the provincial debt and keeping that low and at a place that's reasonable, I think, going forward in the province."
