Our government recently made the decision not to remit the carbon tax on natural gas used by residential SaskEnergy customers. This is a decision we do not take lightly, and we recognize it may come with consequences.
That is why in December of 2023, the Saskatchewan Legislature unanimously passed The SaskEnergy (Carbon Tax Fairness for Families) Act which gives our government and the Minister of Crown Investment Corporation, Dustin Duncan, the exclusive responsibility for compliance with the federal carbon tax on home heating.
The Canada Revenue Agency has accepted Minister Duncan’s application to register the Government of Saskatchewan as the Registered Distributor of natural gas in the province and has deregistered SaskEnergy. As a result, the hardworking women and men at SaskEnergy are protected from any consequences which may arise from our decision.
The decision to remove the federal carbon tax on home heating has already saved Saskatchewan families a lot of money through January and February. It also helped reduce Saskatchewan’s inflation rate to 1.9 per cent, down from 2.7 per cent in December, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by Statistics Canada.
Our government believes that if the federal government is serious about fighting inflation, they need to remove the carbon tax for everyone and everything. These numbers show how much impact the removal of the carbon tax on home heating has on inflation, just here in one province. Imagine the impact it would have on gas prices, grocery prices and everything else we produce and transport in Canada if the federal government scrapped the carbon tax.
Instead, the federal government is committed to another carbon tax increase on April 1. It shows they really don’t care about the impact it is having on Canadian families struggling with the cost of living.
As inflation goes down, our province’s economy continues to grow; housing starts are up 62.1 per cent over last year. We saw impressive figures in building construction investment as well, ranking third in the nation for year-over-year growth with an increase of 13.9 per cent.
We also recently learned that Saskatchewan ranked second among provinces for private capital investment in 2023 and is expected to rank first in 2024. Growth in private capital investment helps to build jobs and opportunities, creating a high quality of life for Saskatchewan people.
Economic growth allows our government to invest in key programs and services, such as health care. Saskatchewan’s surgical system achieved the highest volumes ever recorded in the first nine months of the fiscal year from April 1 to December 31, 2023. Within that period, 71,850 procedures were performed, an increase of 6,000 procedures over the same period in 2022.
Aggressive surgical targets are in place to surpass last year’s highest surgical volume of over 90,000 procedures, to ensure 90 per cent of surgeries are performed within 10 months and that no patients are on the waitlist longer than 18 months.
To further build capacity in our health care system, we continue to make investments in training programs for health care professionals. Suncrest College will offer a new provincial Diagnostic Medical Sonography Advanced Diploma program in Yorkton beginning this fall. The new program will help meet the demand for diagnostic services and ultimately speed up treatment for residents.
Our government will continue to build and protect our great province so Saskatchewan continues to be the best place to live, work and raise your family. As we continue this work, we look forward to hearing from you. You can reach my constituency office at 306-692-8884 or mjnorthmla@sasktel.net.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
