No seismic shifts in existing policy have come with the newly announced 2018-19 Saskatchewan budget, released on April 10. The budget is the first to be released under new Premier Scott Moe and finance minister Donna Harpauer.
The budget forecasts a $365 million spending deficit over the next fiscal year, with increased spending on health care and social services.
Spending on K-12 education has increased by $30 million, coming one year after a $54 million cut in the previous provincial budget. Overall investment in Saskatchewan education is down by 7.6 per cent.
No announcements directly aimed at the Creighton and Denare Beach area were made along with the budget, including no capital investment in any project in the region.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of huge takeaways,” said Creighton mayor Bruce Fidler.
“There wasn’t really any highlights, positive or negative, that I can recall. It was a fairly mellow budget session.”
One key area for smaller municipalities did see changes – provincial revenue sharing, which can make up large amounts of each community’s annual budget.
Funding through the program will see a 6.5 per cent drop, with just over $240 million allocated province-wide and around $18 million to be divided up between northern Saskatchewan communities.
While the funding is an increase over what has been received in the past, it is the lowest amount to be set aside in the past six years.
The amount received through revenue sharing is based on provincial sales taxes, with one percentage point of the money received through the tax two years previous financing the program.
“That formula’s going to stay the same for this year and the next year, that sharing formula,” said Fidler.
It’s unknown how much the change will affect the town’s budget for the next fiscal year.
“I’m sure by the end of April, we’ll find out more,” Fidler said.
Several other minor measures, including sales tax changes on used car sales and changes to grants-in-lieu, have also been introduced but are unlikely to make an impact on the north.
“There might be one or two communities in the north that could be affected by that, but the rest is all down in the south,” said Fidler.
Not included in the provincial budget plan is any version of a carbon tax. While the federal government has mandated that provinces issue levies on carbon produced by fossil fuels and industrial pollution, the Saskatchewan government has not played ball. Under both Premier Moe and previous Premier Brad Wall, Saskatchewan has refused to follow the federal guidelines.
In the Manitoba budget released on March 12, the province issued a carbon plan of their own that fit the federal guidelines, instituting what will amount to be a 5.32 cent per litre price hike on gasoline, a 6.71 cent per litre price increase on diesel fuel and other increases for natural gas and propane.
