NDP leader Carla Beck says the Sask. Party is asleep at the wheel by not have a contingency fund in place in the event of a lengthy trade war.
She notes Alberta, BC and New Brunswick addressed the US tariff threat in their recent budgets.
“This budget has no plans for our economy. This is a budget that pretends as if the last three months haven’t even happened. In the budget we see no measures to protect workers, producers, business and industry from tariffs.”
Beck says the budget does not offer any serious relief on cost of living for Saskatchewan residents until next year.
Much like the NDP, the Candian Federation of Independent Business was hoping for some sort of plan to address tariffs from both the United States and China.
CFIB’s Brianna Solberg says small businesses across Saskatchewan are experiencing levels of uncertainty even higher than what were seen in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the lack of a contingency plan took her off guard.
“I just think that’s a little bit short-sighted. We’re in the middle of this. We’ve already seen impacts that tariffs have had. Whether or not this dispute drags on any longer, they’ve already had impacts on our members, so some additional affordability relief is going to be necessary.”
The CFIB had also hoped for “the elimination of PST on commercial property insurance to help ease the burden of skyrocketing insurance costs. We also have been calling for the elimination of PST on capital expenditures, so machinery and equipment purchases. That was to help boost capital spending at a time when tariffs threatened to decrease investment.”
However, Solberg does admit that the permanent hold on the small business tax at one per cent was much appreciated, as are the lowered personal income taxes, and the reduced education property tax mill rates.
Meanwhile, the NSBA: Saskatoon’s Business Association says the Government of Saskatchewan’s budget was encouraging and “demonstrates a strong commitment to enhancing public safety, investing in early childhood education, and bolstering economic growth.”
A written release from the NSBA says the province’s responsiveness to the organizations concerns is much appreciated. The release does not mention a lack of planning efforts in the case of a drawn-out trade war but instead suggests that the NSBA “looks forward to continued collaboration with the provincial government to ensure the successful implementation of these initiatives and to address other pressing issues affecting our community.”
The Saskatchewan School Boards Association says the budget recognizes several of the pressures identified by school boards within the last year. SSBA president Dr. Shawn Davidson says the budget is a step in the right direction, but additional investment will be needed to address the needs of all students. A written release from the SSBA says the financial plan doesn’t “fully address the funding gap in education that boards have identified but shouldn’t result in them falling farther behind.” On the bright side, Davidson expects the capital announcements in the budget will help address infrastructure shortfalls.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees says the budget fails to address understaffing and retention in health care. CUPE Saskatchewan President Kent Peterson say healthcare workers have gone three years without a raise, calling that ‘unacceptable.’ He adds that the Premier’s inaction on the tariff war has meant uncertainty for workers and their families. CUPE represents 31,000 members in health care, education, childcare, libraries and social services.
The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation is calling the provincial budget “a step in the right direction”. STF President Samantha Becotte says a decade of cuts can’t be addressed with one budget, but she is cautiously optimistic this will be the start of predictable sustainable funding for education. Becotte says to fully restore per student funding to 2012-13 levels when adjusted for inflation, it would still require another $375 million.
