MLAs Column Warren Michelson

I recently received a call from a constituent inquiring about the provincial debt. He had been in discussion with someone, and they had different opinions of what it might be. This conversation got me thinking that others may also be curious about our provincial debt.

Sometimes we think of deficit and debt as one and the same. A budget deficit is the difference between what a government spends and what it receives in revenue during a given time period. The public debt is the amount owed by the government to cover years of budget deficits and capital requirements in our crown corporations.

When the Saskatchewan Party government was first elected, it inherited a debt that was almost two generations old. Our government made the largest debt repayment, while making significant income tax cuts and the largest property tax cut in Saskatchewan history. Under our government, the provincial operating debt has been reduced by over $1 billion. This amounts to $1.5 billion in interest payment savings. These savings have been invested in people and a better quality of life for all in Saskatchewan.

In 2012, the Government of Saskatchewan released the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth: Vision 2020 and Beyond; a roadmap for the growth of our province in all economic sectors that prioritizes fiscal responsibility, needed infrastructure investments, and improved health and social supports.

The decline in resource revenue has required the government to realign tax revenue so as to reduce our reliance on