Saskatchewan releases balanced budget

After embarking on a three-year fiscal plan to balance the budget the Saskatchewan government has tabled a balanced budget for 2019-2020.

Minister of Finance Donna Harpauer tabled a balanced budget in the legislature on March 20 in a plan which contains no new taxes or tax increases.

Budgetary restraints were put in place over the past few years in response to the province adjusting to a billion dollar decline in resource revenue.

Swift Current MLA Everett Hindley said the theme of budget “The Right Balance” allows them to keep their promise to deliver a balanced budget as well as make investments in key areas.

“That’s the key message,” Hindley admitted during a post budget interview. “The reason we feel that’s important is because that allows sustained investment for our province and into infrastructure for a growing economy, not just this year but in the years ahead.”

“As you would recall, under the former Premier and the former Swift MLA of Swift Current, this was a path that he charted a couple of years ago and this was where we wanted to get to. We’re proud to get to destination today.”

Hindley said there were positives for both Swift Current and the province as a whole in the budget. He pointed to education funding as one of those positives.

“With regards to education funding towards the Chinook School Division, their total operating funding will be $75 million in this upcoming budget year. There will also be a couple million, $2.26 million in preventative maintenance renewal. But the budget for Chinook does go up a bit in this upcoming budget year. For the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic School Division, total operating funding will be $23.5 million, with the preventative maintenance renewal allocation of about $537,000.”

“Revenue Sharing is a big one, and you’ve heard me talk about that before. In terms of Revenue Sharing for the City of Swift Current, that has increased 130 per cent since 2007. And the amount of Revenue Sharing for the City of Swift Current for 2019-2020 will be just over $3 million. That is significant because that is money that the City can spend on important projects and infrastructure right in our community.”

This budget also keeps Saskatchewan on the path of remaining less dependent on resource revenue.

“With respect to this budget the amount of revenue that comes from non renewable resources is about 12 per cent. You would have seen us talk about in previous years that amount was northwards of 20 to 22 per cent. And so when we saw the fluctuation in commodity prices, with so much volatility as they did, obviously that had a big impact on our revenues and on the decisions we were able to make as a provincial government,” Hindley said.

“So keeping that in line, that’s why we’ve decided to keep on this path because we were very focussed on getting back to a balanced budget this year, but still being able to make some strategic investments. Because that’s the balance we wanted to achieve, to make sure that we have a competitive tax environment for businesses to thrive and to grow and to expand in Saskatchewan, but in the meantime still allowing us as the government being able to make some important investments.”

“We have to be able to do that to deal with some of the pressures that we’re facing, whether its in education or in healthcare or social services or mental health.”

“As we know in Swift Current and Southwest Saskatchewan, oil and gas is huge. So is agriculture. Commodity prices they have a big impact not just on the provincial budget but on our local economy. That’s why we’re going to keep on this plan of a right balance and making sure that we continue this going forward.”

He was also happy to see the budget process after joining the legislature as a rookie MLA only days before the 2018 budget was presented.

“Last year for me, February was a busy month of campaigning and then we were straight into getting elected in the byelection March 1, and then pretty much straight into a spring sitting of the legislature,” he recalls.

“We didn’t have a chance to have any input into the provincial budget. We got a briefing just prior to it with the rest of caucus. But this year was a much different situation for us.

“For me as the MLA for Swift Current, I know I appreciated the opportunity to work with, not only the members of cabinet and the premier, but my caucus colleagues and say these are priorities for the people that I represent.”

“I was proud to be part of the budget process,” Hindley admitted.