Legislative Report
(31 January 2019)

Innovation and Technology Helping Province Grow

Saskatchewan is a national leader in manufacturing sales and wholesale trade growth. This is an encouraging sign of our economic resilience. Coupled with strong job numbers, we can be optimistic that our economy will continue to grow and create opportunity for Saskatchewan people.

Agriculture is a key driver of our economy and plays an essential role on a global scale. Continued investments in research are vital to ensuring producers are growing what the world needs in the most efficient and sustainable way possible.

At the recent CropSphere conference in Saskatoon, in partnership with producers and the Government of Canada, the Government of Saskatchewan announced support for dozens of new crop and livestock and forage-related research projects.

These investments help to cement Saskatchewan’s status as a leader in agriculture research and create even more opportunities for our producers and agribusinesses, which in turn increases the competitiveness of our industry.

These investments also help to grow our reputation as an internationally recognized leader in the biosciences. Continued investment also helps to attract more world leaders in the field to our province, fostering continued innovation.

Innovation and technology play a critical role in growing our economy.

Our province is home to a thriving technology sector, and our government is encouraging its growth through the Made in Saskatchewan Technology (MIST) Program. The program is designed to find solutions from the province’s technology-based companies whose products may improve public service delivery. Innovation Saskatchewan has now started accepting applications. To learn more about the MIST Program and how to apply, visit innovationsask.ca.

Our technology sector continues to punch above its weight, and we want to keep it growing into the future. If you have a tech startup idea, you can also check out our Saskatchewan Technology Start-up Incentive.

Thank you to all entrepreneurs for their hard work and commitment to growing industry and opportunity in Saskatchewan.

Helping Saskatchewan Cut Red Tape

Modernizing regulations and cutting the red tape is a priority of the Government of Saskatchewan. Unnecessary regulation and red tape costs business, residents and the governments millions of dollars and thousands of hours in lost time every year.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) recently recognized Saskatchewan for its ongoing leadership in red tape reduction by setting clear targets as well as measuring and reporting the regulatory burden. In 2017-18, regulatory modernization efforts were forecast to achieve $132.9 million in savings over the next 10 years—across government and Crown corporations.

The Government of Saskatchewan has also introduced the ‘Help Cut Red Tape’ web page, which is an easy, practical way for entrepreneurs to submit their red tape headaches directly to the government and have them addressed.

Saskatchewan’s efforts to modernize regulations and reduce red tape have earned our province the CFIB’s highest A grade in its 2019 Red Tape Report Card.

Effective red tape reduction also means addressing inter-provincial regulatory irritants. Saskatchewan actively participates as a member of the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table, as part of the Canada Free Trade Agreement.

Saskatchewan and Ontario are also working with industry to identify opportunities to remove red tape for businesses selling goods or services across Canada.

For more information on how to Help Saskatchewan Cut Red Tape, visit http://saskatchewan.ca/help-cut-red-tape.

Past Legislative Reports