Sask NDP is slamming the province’s newly passed budget, calling it a “make-believe fairytale” riddled with a $432 million revenue hole after the Sask Party government scrapped its own industrial carbon tax.
The controversial move eliminates what the NDP calls a “carbon tax slush fund,” resulting in a massive shortfall that erases the budget’s slim $12 million projected surplus.
According to budget documents, the decision means the province will lose $432 million in annual revenue previously generated by the tax.
While the NDP supports ending what it describes as the Sask Party’s misuse of carbon tax funds for “pet projects,” NDP Leader Carla Beck said the government’s failure to account for the lost income undermines the credibility of the entire budget.
“This budget is a make-believe fairytale,” said Beck.
“It ignores what happened this week with Russian potash. There’s no plan to address tariffs. And now the Premier just blew a $432 million hole in the revenue line by scrapping the Sask Party carbon tax.”
Beck, alongside Jobs and Economy Critic Aleana Young, called on the government to “shred the budget” and return to the Legislative Assembly with a revised version that reflects the true state of the province’s finances.
“Saskatchewan people deserve a government that’s focused on the future,” said Beck.
“Frankly, the people of Saskatchewan deserve a government that can do basic math.”
The Sask Party has not yet responded to the NDP’s demand for a new budget or addressed how the $432 million shortfall will be covered.
