Good news about the provincial budget: it’s not as apocalyptic as some of the hints we were hearing from the government. Bad news: it’s still a bitter pill to swallow.
If there’s anything that stands out to me in this budget, it’s that the provincial government has decided to abandon its pledge to not increase taxes and has begun the process to wean itself off of resource revenues.
The thing is, if it didn’t get addicted to then-rising resource revenues when it got into power, we wouldn’t be in this mess today – and there’s no indications in this budget the province is taking steps not to repeat that mistake again.
Some of the cuts, to me, seem to be a case of being penny-wise and pound foolish.
The $3.5 million cut to regional libraries stands out to me in particular. For $6 million, about $5.31 a person, Saskatchewan residents could access books – both physical and electronic – from any library in the province, thus increasing the amount of materials they can access while reducing duplication. If there’s something this province needs, it’s more regional co-operation like this. I don’t get why threatening the existence of that system is worth the few dollars it will save.
There’s also the health care cuts, where the province is phasing out services like the hearing aid plan, podiatry services, continuous positive airway pressure generators to help people with breathing problems and low-cost orthotics, all to save $5.3 million. Meanwhile the health regions, which remember, are being merged to save money, will see a 1.2 per cent increase to receive $3.4 million.
Instead of cutting these services, why not hold the line on corporate income tax instead of giving a 0.5 per cent tax service? Why not keep income taxes stable for the highest income bracket?
The budget contains some needed medicine to get the province on track, but let’s try to avoid cutting off limbs while we save the body.
