MOOSOMIN — Moosomin-Montmartre MLA Kevin Weedmark says last week’s budget is one that delivered for the province on a number of fronts — including saving people money, adding new programs, and balancing the budget.
“I was very impressed,” he said. “The government managed to deliver a balanced budget that manages to bring in some new programs — things like that small and medium enterprise tax credit. That’s a totally new initiative that’s going to help develop our communities. It delivers tax cuts. There are tax cuts in there that are going to affect every individual, every family, every business.
“For individuals, there’s a $500 a year increase in the basic exemption for the next four years. So every year, a $500 increase in the exemption on top of the indexation for inflation that is already in there.”
“For small businesses it will keep that tax rate at one per cent.
“So it’s saving money for individuals, it’s adding new programs, and it’s a balanced budget in a time when there’s a lot of uncertainty around the world, and this is showing the strength and stability of Saskatchewan’s fiscal situation, and showing strength and stability in the midst of instability around the world.
“I think managing to bring in some new programs and bring in record funding for municipal revenue sharing, record funding for education, record funding for health care, at the same time as tax cuts and balancing the budget — I think that can only be termed a success in the budgeting process.”
The Municipal Revenue Share is a uniquely Saskatchewan program, as Weedmark pointed out.
“There has been steady increase in revenue sharing, especially over the last few years. And that revenue sharing is not something that every province has—it’s something that no other province has,” he says. “In other provinces, municipal groups are lobbying their governments for something like what we have in Saskatchewan.
“In Saskatchewan, we can provide municipalities with a strong, stable, predictable source of funding that in many provinces they simply don’t have. So in addition to their tax base, they have this funding as well.”
Weedmark says while posting record education funding in the budget, the education property tax mill rate is going down.
“In education, we have record education funding, while at the same time reducing the education property tax mill rate so that all of the weight isn’t on homeowners and property owners,” he says.
“So all in all, this is a budget that manages to deliver on the priorities of Saskatchewan people and bring in brand new things like the new young entrepreneur bursary, which is something that’s never existed before. There is also the small and medium enterprise investment tax credit, which sounds like people’s eyes should glaze over when they hear it, but that’s a program that basically encourages people to invest in very small enterprises—brand new enterprises starting up, or enterprises that are just in their first expansion stage, and I anticipate that that is going to have a huge impact in rural Saskatchewan by rewarding people for investing in local companies that help build their communities.
“So you are managing to bring all of these new programs in. And there is new spending in health. In our riding, for instance, we’re seeing $10 million for the Grenfell care home on top of $10 million last year.
“You’re seeing funding for paving Highway 8 between Moosomin and Rocanville, which links one of the fastest growing communities in rural Saskatchewan with the world’s largest potash mine,” Weedmark said. “It’s a very busy road and a very needed project.”
“So you are managing to see all of that spending in these areas—record health care spending, record education spending, reduced taxes in the greater personal tax exemption and in the reduction in the education property tax mill rate, and in the decision to permanently keep the small business tax rate at one per cent. So you’re seeing all of that—new spending, tax savings, and coming out to a balanced budget. So all in all, I think that’s pretty phenomenal.”
Another area of record funding came in agriculture with $625 million promised for the industry.
“Our agriculture industry is extremely important in this province,” Weedmark says. “Some of that is for Crop Insurance to ensure that our farmers, who are doing a world-class job of producing food and helping feed the world, are supported. The support for agriculture in this budget just helps them do that.”
Supporting small business
Weedmark is no stranger to the world of small business. In addition to being a small business owner, he is also the president of the Moosomin Chamber of Commerce. He says there are some important measures in the budget to support small and medium-sized business and encourage young people to get into business.
“I have so much respect for every small business owner. I didn’t start the business from scratch, but I started with nothing,” he said. “I borrowed everything I needed to buy that business, and I needed to make a success of it to pay for it.
“I didn’t inherit the business, I started with nothing, built a business, and I can tell you that takes a lot of work no matter what,” he said. “I really respect everyone who takes the risk and puts in the work to build and grow a small business.
“I think some of these measures in the budget, keeping that tax rate at one per cent, that small and medium enterprise investment tax credit, and even that young entrepreneur bursary, all of those help businesses grow and expand and help them understand that what they are doing is appreciated.
“That $5,000 youth bursary, it’s not an insignificant amount for a brand new person starting in a business, but it also shows them that the province is behind them and believes in what they are doing.
“In the case of Moosomin, the Chamber of Commerce is leveraging that $5,000 bursary and they’re trying to build programs around it,” he said. “As we speak right now, in the high school in Moosomin is a group of individuals who are speaking to the Grade 10 students about entrepreneurship and about why they might want to consider entrepreneurship. It’s something that a lot of kids might not consider and might not hear a lot about in the school system.
“The $5,000 bursary is one thing, but you have communities that are taking that and building around that to improve services for people who are just starting out. In Moosomin there are plans to get a mentorship program going, to try to encourage young people to get into business and give them support once they are into business.
“That $5,000 bursary, that was the catalyst for that, and that is now being leveraged and it is going to make a big difference for a lot of young entrepreneurs,” Weedmark said. “You have to respect and you have to support those people who are willing to take a risk and go into business.”
Strong financial position
“I’ll call it a balanced budget because that’s obviously a very small surplus when you’re talking about a $21 billion budget,” Weedmark said.
“But I think it’s a real achievement. To have record spending in revenue sharing, record spending in health, record spending in education, some great new programs coming out of this budget, and at the same time, be reducing taxes, reducing personal taxes, business taxes, and bringing down the education mill rate, and balancing the budget, to me, that’s a slam dunk. And it puts us in a strong fiscal position so that if things develop with the tariffs, we are in a very, very strong position to start with. That’s where we want to be.
“This budget puts Saskatchewan in one of the strongest financial positions among provinces, but all of that is possible only because of the strong state of the provincial economy, and that is thanks to the resourcefulness, the resilience, the drive of Saskatchewan people,” Weedmark says. “I’m so proud of the people of our province and proud of our government for producing a balanced budget that will keep this province on a strong, steady footing.”
