The Battlefords NDP provincial candidate Amber Stewart is concerned the province's new budget released Monday leaves questions unanswered how the province will recover from the financial impact of the pandemic. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Budget reaction

Battlefords NDP candidate says province’s new budget needs a recovery plan

Jun 16, 2020 | 4:58 PM

The local NDP candidate for the Battlefords has concerns about the province’s new budget released Monday.

Amber Stewart said she was hoping for a more comprehensive outline how the government will deal with the financial impact of the pandemic.

In Monday’s statement, the province forecasted a $2.4 billion deficit for 2020-21 due to reduced provincial revenues and additional costs related to the pandemic.

“There is very little in that budget that has changed since they announced the budget in March,” she said. “They have had three months to work on this and put a plan in place that helps us recover from COVID-19. I don’t think that this budget is the budget that will help us do that.”

Stewart is also worried the province might look at making cuts in other areas to help resolve its large debt.

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That might look like more privatization and increasing the sales tax that, she said, would make life harder for Saskatchewan people, she said.

While there is infrastructure spending in the province’s budget, Stewart said there is no committment to hiring Saskatchewan workers or companies.

She said the Saskatchewan NDP recently released a proposed “People-First Recovery Plan” in response to the financial affect of COVID-19. Stewart said the plan focuses on infrastructure spending that invests in local companies and workers, and supports small business among its priorities.

In its statement the province said it expects Saskatchewan’s deficit to be smaller comparatively to other provinces.

“This is a pandemic deficit, not a structural deficit,” Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said in the statement. She said the province’s revenues will recover in the coming years without having to cut programs and services.

The Battlefords MLA Herb Cox said the budget offers support to boost the economy after a difficult period. He noted the government is transparent about the challenges ahead.

“Saskatchewan basically was the first province that presented a budget that accounted for the impacts of COVID to our economy and to this province,” he said. “So I think that was a first for this province and shows strong leadership from our premier.”

The MLA said prior to the pandemic the province was on track for two balanced budgets in a row.

“We are going to get back to that,” he said. “As the economy recovers we are going to get back to balance, and we are not going to cut programs and services,” he said. “That’s our commitment.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW