Legislative Report
(2 January 2020)

Achieving the Right Balance During 2019

Happy New Year!

2019 was an amazing year of growth and success that found the right balance for Saskatchewan. Our provincial budget carefully managed spending with no tax increases, and important infrastructure investments for our future. The budget provides record funding for healthcare and education as well as several notable investments, including:

• $30 million for targeted mental health and addictions initiatives, including 140 new mental health and addictions beds;
• $1.1 million to train police in detecting drug-impaired driving;
• $10.5 million increase to Municipal Revenue Sharing, which will keep municipal taxes low; and
• $211 million in targeted investments that will benefit Indigenous communities, businesses and organizations, a 4.7 per cent increase from the previous year.

You can learn more about our government’s balanced budget online at saskatchewan.ca/budget.

Opposition to Federal Carbon Tax Continues

The start of a new year is an exciting time as it represents renewal, hope and optimism for what is to come. Unfortunately, the arrival of a new year means a higher Federal Carbon Tax which will cost Saskatchewan families and businesses more.

Your Saskatchewan Party government will continue standing up and fighting this unconstitutional tax in the Supreme Court and making meaningful progress to reduce GHG emissions. Our province and our industries have taken meaningful steps to address our carbon emissions. Technology like zero-till agriculture and carbon capture have done more to reduce our carbon emissions than taxing the people of Saskatchewan. It is time the federal government recognizes our industries and the work they are doing.

Setting Goals for the New Decade

For many of us, a new year and decade inspires goal-setting and plans for improvement. Our government begins a new decade with ambitious goals and a plan to achieve them. Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan goals include growing our population to 1.4 million people and creating 100,000 more jobs by 2030. Our plan also aims to increase exports by 50 per cent, and grow agriculture value-added revenue to $10 billion.

20 actions for the 2020s will ensure the province remains on track to accomplish the goals set out in our plan. These actions include keeping the province’s finances strong and the budget balanced, building strong communities by investing in infrastructure, and delivering on Saskatchewan’s climate change plan to reduce carbon emissions.

The purpose of growth is to build a better quality of life for Saskatchewan people; to build a strong economy, strong communities, strong families, and a stronger Saskatchewan. We recently learned that our population in Saskatchewan grew by 4,195 people during the 3rd quarter of 2019, to an all-time high of 1,178,657. This marks the 54th consecutive quarter of population growth in our province, and is a great start to our goal of raising the population to 1.4 million people by 2030.

My colleagues and I look forward to continue serving the people of Saskatchewan in 2020 and beyond. Once again, happy new year and best wishes for good health, happiness and prosperity all year long!

Past Legislative Reports