Len Taylor

The initial reaction to the new federal government budget of January 27th is interesting. Some people worry about the newly created large budget deficit and the lack of a concrete plan to eventually get it under control: some like the idea of personal tax breaks and tax credits for renovations; others are concerned that those who need help the most have been largely ignored.

This isn’t unusual given that everybody sees the current national econmic situation differently depending on the circumstances in their life.

But, here in Saskatchewan, lets remember - we had a list of priorities going into the budget planning process - and we should judge the content of the federal budget against what we were looking for before we knew what was going to be in it.

Saskatchewan has a few needs that we wanted addressed. There is a crisis in the forestry sector (just ask the people in Prince Albert, Big River, Meadow Lake, Hudson Bay, and Nipawin), and in the livestock sector. These industries are affected by the downtown in the global economy just as much as the auto sector is affected. We in Saskatchewan were looking for help.

Job losses continue to take place even in our well-performing provincial economy, especially in the oil patch, and in the potash communities. New investment dollars are decreasing, and we continue to have a job shortage for industries or sectors that continue to perform well.

Also, our municipalities (cities, towns, RMs) have infrastructure projects ready to go and Mayors and Reeves asked to have federal funds flow directly to them, quickly and easily. Here in The Battlefords we’ve been waiting more than 2 years for our request for federal funds in support of our proposed multipurpose facility.

And, lastly, for some of us at least, we were looking for Ottawa to better respect our provincial resource revenues and leave more of the royalties received for use inside Saskatchewan.

So, how did the federal budget match-up to our expressed needs.

a) likely little new funding will reach those most affected in our forestry communities.

b) Ag funding will help further diversify livestock sector but there is unlikely any direct support for the cow/calf operator which is where the real hurt is.

c) Resource sector has been largely left to fend for themselves.

d) Municipalities will have more money for infrastructure, but they still must apply for help and someone in Ottawa will decide if the project warrants funding or not - and still no specific recognition that The Battlefords Multipurpose proposal warrants any federal funding.

e) No recognition of Saskatchewan’s request for a change in the equalization formula or the development of an Energy Accord similar to that which exists for Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. This was a promise broken in the last election and is costing Saskatchewan about $800 million a year. In this recession just imagine how important those funds could be if the national economy doesn’t improve soon.

There are other things as well - such as the need for more affordable housing, expecially for seniors, that doesn’t appear to be easy to find in this budget.

So in summary - it is clear that Saskatchewan greatest needs were not addressed by Ottawa on January 27th. Despite the fact that 13 of 14 federal seats are held by the governing Conservatives (including the Agriculture Minister who has to know the problems in the cattle industry). We seem to have been ignored or worse, taken for granted.

Saskatchewan’s economy is giving us some breathing room (we’ll see how well we are doing when the provincial budget comes down around March 18th), but let’s hope that our economic success doesn’t put us first in line to help pay off this large federal debt that appears to be primarily for the benefit for the residents of other provinces.