Provincial New Democrats say the Brad Wall government is choosing politicians over people in its 2012-13 budget.
NDP finance critic Trent Wotherspoon slammed the budget Friday in speaking to the News-Optimist, saying students and seniors will be suffering the most due to budget handed down by finance minister Ken Krawetz last Wednesday.
"There's great disappointment with the budget," said Wotherspoon of the public's reaction.
He said the government was "spending millions to increase the number of politicians, to build a statue at the legislature, but at the same time ask Saskatchewan students and seniors to pay the price for it."
The finance critic was referring to plans to expand the legislature from 58 to 61 seats, which Wotherspoon said would cost millions of dollars. He adds there are no cuts being proposed to the premier's office.
As for the proposed statue, they're looking for more details about that, he said.
"All we see in the budget is big spending about a statue and refurbishment here at the legislature," said Wotherspoon.
"These are misplaced priorities," he added, calling instead for health care and education improvements.
Wotherspoon particularly slammed government plans to raise the maximum prescription drug payment by $5 per prescription.
"We have a significant hit, a real hit, on the pocketbooks of Saskatchewan seniors with the increase to prescription drugs," said Wotherspoon. He said the hike may sound modest, but it adds up to a big increase for seniors who need prescriptions.
Those hikes will "increase the cost to many senior couples and seniors to the tune of hundreds of dollars a year," the finance critic said. He adds this increase is on top on increases for ambulances and for special care homes, and calls the budget "hard on Saskatchewan seniors."
He called seniors the "pioneers" of the province and said many are on fixed incomes, and the impact would be hundreds of dollars a year on them.
He also attacked the government for its education spending. A press release from the NDP caucus on March 21 slammed the budget, saying a $10 million commitment to school boards would not cover off the millions that will be taken away from school divisions under the government's new education funding formula.
"The impact is that many school boards and many classrooms will see reductions," said Wotherspoon. "The changes they've made to education funding are going to be a negative impact on many many students."
Wotherspoon added the "stop-gap" funding for this year "doesn't even begin to fill the hole," he said.
