Trent Wotherspoon, the finance critic for the opposition, presented a critique of the Sask Party’s 2019 budget to a crowd at the Public Library on Mar. 31, highlighting the major points of concern for the NDP Party and opening the floor to questions from the public.
The opposition has been vocal about finding the new budget to be “off-balance,” citing the province’s debt having grown by $1.8 billion, taking debt to a record high. That debt, Wotherspoon said, has fallen on the backs of middle-class Saskatchewan families and onto the Crown corporations, which is “[doing] nothing to fire up the economy.”
“We have a situation where because of the PST hike of this government, families are now paying $800 more per year in just a four year period of time,” said Wotherspoon. “We're very disappointed to not have the government recognize the hurt they're causing households and our economy, through the PST, and to provide some relief on that front.”
Wotherspoon emphasized the funding to education as too little, leaving not enough to spare for growing classrooms.
“This budget really fails to step up to support students at a time where our classrooms are really at a breaking point,” said Wotherspoon. “And that's a concern because we see education as the foundation to our future.”
He also noted the need for more funding for mental health and addiction initiatives and a reinstation of the PST exemption for the construction sector, to foster job creation and investment in the economy.
“We saw the first step in this budget on mental health and addiction services, but it's not enough to close the gap,” said Wotherspoon. “When we look at the crystal meth epidemic that's real across Saskatchewan, it's ravaging the lives of people and families and communities, and it needs a response.”
The crowd in attendance brought up a number of questions about the closure of Cornwall Alternative School in Regina and subsequent reversal of that decision, as well as the closure of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) and Wildlife Federation field offices across the province.
“It's really good to see people in Moose Jaw showing up for a budget forum and caring about what's in the budget, and caring about their community and their province,” said Wotherspoon about the attendance to the event.
