The Saskatchewan budget for 2023-24 continues to show a strong economy in the province, a record amount of spending while retiring more than $1 billion in debt, and no tax increases..This was Donna Harpauer’s sixth budget as minister of Finance and she called her approach to the budget “balanced management.”.The government expects to spend $18.7 billion and have a surplus of surplus $1.1 billion. The province is currently $31 billion in debt.. Carla Beck Budget .“Saskatchewan is growing at its fastest pace in more than a century,” said Harpauer..“This budget is designed to ensure growth continues and it's growth that works for everyone.” .NDP Leader Carla Beck said, "If you're a parent struggling to make ends meet, this budget will not help you."."Budgets are about choices, and the Sask Party chooses to neglect the issues keeping regular people up at night," said Beck..STRONG ECONOMY.Saskatchewan’s population reached 1.2 million people for the first time in 2022, helping to boost the economy with a record amount of people working..Saskatchewan’s Real GDP went up 4.8% in 2022 over 2021. Due to the slowing economy, the province forecasts a 1.3% GDP increase in the budget..Saskatchewan’s economy is helped by exports up 41.6% and wholesale trade up 47.1%..The high commodities prices allow Saskatchewan to retire $1 billion in debt for the second year in a row. Between the last two years, the province will pay off more than $2 billion in debt, saving about $117 million in annual interest charges..“With a growing economy and strong finances in Saskatchewan, our government will pay down up to $1 billion in operating debt this fiscal year, reducing interest costs and investing those savings into needed services, programs, and capital,” said Harpauer..There is no $500 affordability cheque this year as the surplus is approximately half-a-billion less than last year..To help with the labour shortage and retain post secondary students in the province after graduation, the Graduate Retention Program (GRP) will provide up to $20,000 in tax credits for students who stay and work in Saskatchewan. The GRP is estimated to cost approximately $65 million this year.."Only 15% of folks say they're better off financially now compared to a year ago," said Beck.."We have the second highest rates of financial insecurity in Canada and despite the government sitting on massive resource revenues there's not a stitch of serious cost relief for ordinary Saskatchewan families. Resources belong to Saskatchewan people and it's simply unfair for Moe to sit on a pile of cash while people are struggling to stay afloat.".HEALTHCARE.The record amount of healthcare spending includes more healthcare workers' education and recruitment costs.. Healthcare .Harpauer said the government aims to return healthcare workers to pre-pandemic levels “plus more.”.The $98.8 million Health Human Resources (HHR) action plan spending increased $82.7 million over last year’s budget to recruit, train, incentivize, and retain healthcare workers..Harpauer mentioned an early success of the HHR plan was recruiting approximately 400 nurses from the Philippines in the past year, with the goal of 3000..“This budget delivers a 6.7% increase to the Ministry of Health to $6.9 billion, strengthening the healthcare system and taking significant steps to further attract, train and retain doctors, nurses, and other key healthcare professionals in a growing province,” said Harpauer..To reduce surgical wait times to pre-pandemic levels, there is a one-time $42.5 million expense to do 6,000 more surgeries this year. Adding in the extra surgeries allows the province to reach pre-pandemic wait times by March 2024, a year ahead of schedule.."Our healthcare system is on the verge of collapse and we still don't see funding to support family docs, team-based care or community health advisory networks," said Beck.."They had a chance to bring forward an ambitious plan for our health system and they blew it.".EDUCATION.“More than 189,000 students are attending kindergarten to Grade 12 in Saskatchewan, the most in more than 20 years,” said Harpauer..The Ministry of Education receives a 6.7% increase costing $3.1 billion to support schools, early learning, childcare, and libraries..Early learning and childcare receives $382.4 million, a 23.3% increase over last year, with most of the spending going toward the $10-a-day childcare starting on April 1..The province is spending an additional $23 million to support the startup and operation of the Saskatchewan Distance Learning Corporation (SDLC), which starts in September. The SDLC provides all students across the province access to online courses from kindergarten to Grade 12. It helps high school students take electives not offered at their school and online completion of Grade 12 for adult students.."If you're a student in an overcrowded classroom, this budget does not help you," said Beck..Due to a high level of spam content being posted in our comment section below, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). Your patience is appreciated.
