The Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation is concerned about the amount of debt in Saskatchewan. They have been touring the province with the Debt Clock, which is meant to show the current state of the provincial deficit.
Todd MacKay of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says they have undertaken the tour to raise awareness of what is happening with the province’s finances.
“The provincial government did a great job of paying down debt when it first came into office, and deserves credit for that, but now the debt is starting to creep back up again. In fact, it’s going up by about $2.7 million every day.”
The clock itself was made out of a desire to help people understand just how much money this is.
“It’s hard for people to imagine what that looks like. That’s why we bring the clock out, so people can see how fast those numbers are moving and ultimately we need to get those numbers moving the other way.
MacKay says that people are surprised to see how big the numbers are, as well as seeing the rate at which the provincial debt is growing.
“On the other hand, I think there is optimism. If we make a few tough decisions and trim spending a little bit we can turn things around and start paying the debt down again.”
Ultimately, the goal is to make people more aware of the financial situation of the province, so there can be discussions about how to better spend tax dollars in the province to change the way the clock is running.
“The only way to pay off the provincial debt is through taxes, so we want to make taxpayers aware that you’re on the hook for more money, because a lot of the time that is something people don’t think about that.”
