With a provincial budget looming, the province has made an announcement that they will hold the line on the education property tax.
Premier Brad Wall made the announcement March 13 in Saskatoon at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities convention.
What it means is that education tax rates will be reduced significantly in the provincial budget to keep the impact on property taxes revenue-neutral in terms of reassessment. The budget is to be handed down Wednesday.
The government previously indicated it would take a look at the impact of the increase in property values on property taxes. The premier noted the announcement is good news for property owners who could have seen significant property tax increases.
Still, the premier indicated the government may have to look at adjusting the education property tax in the future. In a news release, he said the government would "want to sit down with SUMA, SARM and SSRA and hear from Saskatchewan people in advance of next year's budget on how we go forward in terms of the need for financial support for increasing enrollment and education infrastructure demands."
Wall also announced new funding to attract recently-graduated physicians to rural communities during a morning address to delegates.
The Rural Physician Incentive Program is to provide $120,000 in funding over the next five years to recent medical graduates who establish practice in rural areas of 10,000 or less.
Eligible physicians will receive a payment at the end of each year of practise with those payments increasing gradually over a five-year period. The idea is to help ease the financial burden on new doctors and address a shortage of family physicians in rural Saskatchewan.
The program, retroactive to April 1, 2012, will be open to both Canadian and international medical graduates, and will be administered by Saskdocs, the provincial physician recruitment agency.
In a statement, Biggar MLA Randy Weekes, who is minister for rural and remote health in the Wall government, said the incentive is in response to feedback from rural residents.
"I've heard firsthand from many rural residents that physician services are a serious concern," said Weekes. "This is another way that we're working to keep our commitment to address health care needs in smaller communities."
