Premier Scott Moe and Finance Minister Donna Harpauer think the Liberal’s federal budget does not do enough to stimulate the Canadian economy or help properly fund healthcare..Moe and Harpauer started touring the province on Friday with a stop in Prince Albert. .The federal budget spent money on programming but with little to stimulate the economy, the pair said..This past month, Saskatchewan lost 4,500 jobs..“Saskatchewan’s labour force is once again trailing far behind the rest of the nation. We have lost 4,500 jobs in a month. That’s the worst in Canada by a huge margin,” said Aleana Young, NDP Economy and Jobs critic. .“Full-time jobs have slipped by 1,600 in March alone, along with a growing unemployment rate. The volatility in Saskatchewan’s labour market won’t increase confidence in consumers.”.Moe wanted to see some federal programs and incentives to help stimulate the Saskatchewan economy in the budget..Moe and Harpauer talked about federal health funding as a major area of concern..All of Canada’s premiers want to sit down with the federal government to create stable health transfer payments..Moe does not think the current health transfer suffices to help fund provincial healthcare. .“All of the premiers have unified in an ask to increase the Canada Health Transfer to a fair level,” said Moe..The dental care announcement adds to the cost of provincial healthcare and the Saskatchewan government has not met with the federal government about the new program..“Dental care or any healthcare services that are being offered, you know this is a prime example of where the federal government does need to work closely with the provinces. Healthcare is provincially delivered across the nation,” said Moe..The Saskatchewan NDP is happy to see the national dental care program..Saskatchewan did have a children’s dental care program up until the 80s..“With respect to kids dental, this is something that we’ve had in Saskatchewan. That we built in Saskatchewan, something that was taken away by the Saskatchewan Party Conservatives of course in the 80s. We’re pleased to see dental care provided,” said Trent Wotherspoon, NDP Finance critic..There is a new $15 billion investment fund and tax credits to help provinces such as Saskatchewan to reduce their emissions..Some of those investments include clean energy projects, clean hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. .The provincial government has yet to comment on the emission reductions investments..Moe and Harpauer will comment further on the federal budget this week..Chris Oldcorn is a Western Standard Reporter based in Regina.,coldcorn@westernstandard.news,Twitter: @chrisoldcorn,.Parler: @chrisoldcorn
