Provincial government has created a lot of prosperity

Editor:

In response to local New Democrat supporter Shaynee Modien’s most recent letter-to-theeditor about so-called tax increases and social program cuts, he conveniently neglects to mention several important facts.

It would seem that Mr. Modien prefer that we were more like his New Democrat cousins in Alberta, and virtually every other province in the country, with no plan to get their budget back to balance. Facing a downturn in commodity prices and the inability to get our oil to tidewater because of a lack of pipeline capacity (something that Mr. Modien’s federal NDP leader does not support), our government has had to make some difficult choices – however we remain on track to get back to balance by next year’s budget cycle.

Furthermore, Mr. Modien critiques spending over the last ten years, saying that “the SaskParty simply keeps putting money into the debt they created.”

I suppose he would prefer that our government had not invested in several new group homes for the disabled in Swift Current (including increased funding for the caregivers in these homes), a new long-term health care facility for seniors in the southwest (the Meadows), new schools for our children (the All Saints and Ecole Centennial joint-use schools), improvements to the #1 and #4 Highways near Swift Current, or low-income and seniors housing projects. These are just some of the investments in our community and there are numerous other examples around the province.

Without a proper plan to get our budget back to balance, it’s not possible to continue to make these types of important investments while maintaining manageable debt and ensuring our taxes remain among the lowest in Canada.

Mr. Modien might want to think twice before criticizing where the money has gone.

Everett Hindley, MLA

Swift Current