ESTEVAN — Estevan MLA Lori Carr is praising the provincial budget, which was handed down last Wednesday in the Saskatchewan legislature.
The document has a $1 billion surplus, with a record $3.7 billion in capital investments, a reduction of up to $1 billion in operating debt, and a net debt-to-GDP projected to be 14.1 per cent, as of March 31. There are no new taxes or tax increases.
“We’re going to take that billion dollars and we’re going to put it towards debt. The majority of that surplus does come from resource revenues, and as we all know, revenues won’t always be high, so we’re going to take this opportunity to shift some of that onto the debt for Saskatchewan, while at the same time, we’re still making significant investments right across the province,” said Carr.
The budget projects the average price for a barrel of oil to be US$79.50 per barrel (West Texas Intermediate), which is higher than the current price. Total oil and natural gas royalties are projected to be $963.1 million.
The average potash price is projected to be US$369 per tonne, for total potash royalties of $1.4 billion. The exchange rate is to be 74.35 cents U.S.
The government is trying to find a way so it’s not so reliant on resource revenues, Carr said, due to their volatility.
“We need to ensure that the base that we have is funding the core expenditures, and not relying on … the extras revenues,” said Carr. “I think we’ll look at that in the years to come, but this year, it was post-COVID and really finding that balance and deciding what we do next with some of the things in years past.”
The provincial government uses industry averages when it comes to projected natural resource revenues, she said, so she doesn’t believe the numbers are too ambitious.
In addition to the money for the new Estevan Regional Nursing Home, there is going to be some double lanes added to Highways 39 and 6. There will be twinning northwest of Weyburn to address what Carr called “congested areas”, and around the junction of Highways 39 and 6 near Corinne. Also, Highway 6 will be twinned to the hamlet of Rowatt on Highway 6. Currently the double lanes end just south of the Regina bypass.
The budget also includes light preservation work for Highway 39 from Midale to Macoun, medium preservation work for Highway 361 east of the junction of Highway 47, and heavy preservation work for Highway 33 from Stoughton to Fillmore.
But there isn’t money in the budget for Highway 47 from Estevan to Stoughton, Highway 18 from Estevan to Outram or the Roche Percee access road, all of which are considered top priorities in the Estevan area.
“I know our crews do a great job of patching them the best that they can, but they definitely need some upgrading,” Carr said.
Also not included in the budget is the proposed expansion of the Estevan Comprehensive School to add Grade 7 and 8 students, and the associated construction of a new, joint-use, kindergarten-Grade 6 school that would replace five of the six elementary schools in Estevan.
Carr noted the consolidation of the Carlyle Elementary School and Gordon F. Kells High School in Carlyle into a new kindergarten to Grade 12 school was the top priority for Cornerstone, and money for that project is in this year’s budget.
The City of Estevan will receive $2,229,991 through the provincial revenue sharing program, up from $1,963,999 in 2022-23, based on the formula used to calculate the municipal grants.
Carr noted the province is growing at its fastest pace in more than a century. Saskatchewan now has 1.2 million residents, according to numbers released by Statistics Canada hours before the budget came down.
Leader of the official opposition Carla Beck and finance critic Trent Wotherspoon said the budget missed the mark, claiming the document neglects both the cost-of-living and health-care challenges.
“If you’re a parent struggling to make ends meet, this budget does not help you. If you’re a young person in this province hoping for investments in your future, this budget does not help you,” said Beck. “If you’re a burnt-out healthcare worker, this budget does not help you. If you’re a student in an overcrowded classroom, this budget does not help you.
“Budgets are about choices, and the Sask. Party chooses to neglect the issues keeping regular people up at night.”
Despite sitting on massive resource revenues, ​Beck said Premier Scott Moe’s out-of-touch budget provides no tax relief​, no new tax credits or benefits for families​, and no reversal of the Sask. Party’s recent energy and power rate hikes.
The NDP said the budget did not deliver:
•Cost-of-living relief for cash-strapped families;
•A scrapping of the provincial sales tax on construction labour;
•An end to pension clawbacks;
•Tax cuts and lower power and energy bills;
•Ambitious investments in health care;
•A jobs plan to grow the province;
•Education funding that keeps pace with inflation;
•Emergency funding to prevent tuition hikes; and
•Harm reduction measures.
