Certain fees and charges paid by Saskatchewan residents will change in 2017-18 to reflect the cost of related provincial services. Several charges and fees take effect on Saturday, April 1, 2017.
A penalty of 10 per cent will be applied on audit assessments for mineral, oil and gas producers with about $4.5 million in additional revenue expected from this fee this year. Oil and gas companies under audit to owe money will be affected.
Applicants to the International Skilled Worker — Occupations in Demand and Express Entry categories of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program will be required to submit a new, non-refundable application fee of $300. This is expected to generate $1.1 million in additional revenues in 2017-18. Approximately 2,400 applications under the Express Entry Program and 1,300 under the Occupations in Demand Program will be affected. The fee for General Education Diploma and Adult Basic Education transcripts will increase from $15 to $20, to establish consistency with the fee charged by the Ministry of Education for Grade 12 transcripts. About $3,000 is expected to be generated from this increase. This impacts about 600 individuals requesting transcripts annually.
Fees for all requested certificates of vital events, such as birth and marriage, will increase between $5 and $15 depending on the type of certificate. This increase is expected to bring in $785,000 in the coming year.
Saskatchewan resident hunting and trapping licence fees will increase by $10 and Wildlife Habitat Certificates will increase by $5. Canadian and non-resident hunting licence fees are also increasing, and a new $50 wolf hunting licence will be available for Saskatchewan residents. These fees are expected to bring in $2.1 million, and impacts approximately 200,000 licensed hunters and trappers.
Saskatchewan resident angling licence fees will increase by $3 for one-day licences, $4 for three-day licences and $8 for annual licences. Canadian and non-resident angling licence fees also rise. This measure will generate $850,000. Approximately 200,000 licensed anglers will be impacted. The voluntary payment option (VP fine) for fishing without a licence will increase from $100 plus $25/fish to $200 plus $50/fish. A new VP fine of $500 will be introduced for failing to stop at a watercraft inspection station. The existing VP fine of $1,000 for unlawfully hunting big game will be extended to include bison.
The annual “per bed” licensing fee charged to personal care homes will increase from $10 to $20. This is expected to raise $40,000 this year and affect almost 248 personal care home businesses. A new $40 registration fee for existing, ministry-conducted personal care home orientation workshops will be introduced. This could generate $4,600 over the next year. This fee impacts approximately 115 annual registrants.
Fees for all water testing provided by the Saskatchewan Disease Control Laboratory will increase by 10%. This impacts about 700 municipal agencies, 10,000 public health-related businesses; and 5,000 members of the general public. This new fee would generate $136,000 in the coming year.
Provisions of The Summary Offences Procedure Act 1990 will be extended to allow First Nations communities with a Community Safety Officer Program to retain a share of fine revenue generated from the contravention of provincial statutes. This impacts the Onion Lake Cree Nation and File Hills Tribal Council First Nations.
Effective October 1, 2017, the licensing fee for each payday lender location will increase from $2,000 annually to $3,000 annually. This fee affects about 55 payday loan locations, and should raise $37,000 in revenues next year.
In 2017, annual fees will be charged for performing regulatory oversight responsibilities for Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation of $25,000 for its oversight function with respect to CUDGC’s regulation of SaskCentral; and $275,000 for its oversight function with respect to CUDGC’s regulation of all individual credit unions in the province.
