The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) met with Saskatchewan Finance Minister Ken Krawetz to make recommendations for the upcoming budget.
First, the Saskatchewan government needs to better plan for, and discuss, the demographic tsunami that is starting to hit the province. The first of the baby boom generation started to turn 65 years of age back in 2011.
This is significant for two reasons. First, when people retire, they earn less money and pay less in taxes. Second, older people tend to require more expensive health procedures like hip replacements and 24-hour nursing care.
The second major issue we highlighted concerns government employee pension problems. While pensions can be a complex topic, the impact on taxpayers is not. Several government employee pension funds in Saskatchewan ran into financial problems, so governments bailed them out with millions of extra dollars each year. That’s not right.
In terms of health care, we expressed support for the premier’s recent musings about allowing private MRIs in the province. It just makes sense for Saskatchewan patients to be able to decide for themselves – go on a government waiting list for the service or pay out of pocket for faster care.
In terms of alcohol sales reform, we encouraged the government to pursue the Alberta model – only private businesses sell alcohol. Our recommendation came following a survey of CTF supporters across the province about the five options being floated by the government.
We also encouraged the Wall government to put pressure on organizations it funds (school boards, health regions, universities, municipalities) to deliver services more cost-effectively. Statistics Canada data shows that Saskatchewan leads the nation when it comes to the number of people working for either a municipal or provincial government.
It’s time for those organizations to follow the Wall government’s lead and trim the fat. (Recall, the Wall govern
If you like any of the aforementioned ideas, be sure to speak up. The more people pushing for change the more likely it is to happen when Budget 2015 come out.
Colin Craig is the Prairie Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
