Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is hitting the road with a giant digital counter to warn Saskatchewan residents about what it calls the provincial government’s growing debt problem.The group launched its Saskatchewan Debt Clock tour this week, with the goal of drawing attention to what it describes as runaway government spending and ballooning interest charges under Premier Scott Moe’s leadership.“Saskatchewan taxpayers’ money is being wasted on debt interest payments because the government is spending money faster than it comes in,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Every dollar Saskatchewan politicians rack up in debt today is a dollar plus interest that taxpayers will have to pay back tomorrow.”The Debt Clock is mounted on the side of a truck and shows the province’s debt rising in real time as it travels across the province. According to the CTF, Saskatchewan’s debt is expected to reach $23.5 billion by the end of the year — more than double the $11 billion total when Moe first became premier. That represents a 113% increase..On a per-person basis, the debt amounts to about $18,713 for every Saskatchewanian.The group says interest payments on the debt are expected to cost $878.4 million this year alone, or roughly $700 per person. That breaks down to over $2.4 million in interest each day.“Debt interest charges are costing taxpayers more than $2.4 million every single day,” Haubrich said. “Moe needs to control spending and pay down the debt, so millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money aren’t being wasted to cover the government’s irresponsible borrowing.”The tour is making stops across Saskatchewan this week, with the CTF hoping to pressure the province into reining in its spending and committing to reducing the debt.
