Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Saskatchewan 26e 1re Discours sur le budget 19 mars 2008 Rod Gantefoer Ministre des Finances Saskatchewan Party Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before I begin I would like to take this opportunity to make some very special introductions. I would like to introduce some of the members of my family that are able to be here today with us, and first of all I’d like to introduce my daughter Pattie; my sister-in-law and her daughter Allison— Louise Gantefoer and Allison Gantefoer. I’d like to introduce my sister Jane and her daughter Janet. And most importantly, I’d like to introduce Carole. You know, Carole and I met in 1966, as hard as it is to imagine. We were married. We’ve been married for 39 years and in that time we’ve had three wonderful daughters and son-in-laws, Laurie and Mike in Calgary with their children — Hayley, Scott, and Rachael; Pattie who I’ve introduced, and her husband Tim in Melfort, and our grandchildren, Grant and Jack. And Bonnie, who is unable to be here today, and her husband Sam, from Regina, with their children Caleb and Sophie. And if you’ve kept count, that adds up to seven wonderful and delightful grandchildren. We as a family have shared much over these years and today we share the pride that I have in being asked to serve this great province. Welcome to you and thank you for being here. It is my honour today as Minister of Finance to deliver this year’s budget — the first ever budget handed down by our new government in Saskatchewan. Last fall’s election came at a pivotal time in our province’s history. Saskatchewan was already enjoying a period of significant growth. Our economy was growing. New jobs were being created. And for the first time in many years, more people were moving into the province than were moving out. So the fundamental question of the campaign became, who is best able to sustain this growth and ensure it turns into lasting prosperity for all Saskatchewan people? All the parties put forward their best ideas to answer this very fundamental question. And on November 7, Saskatchewan people made a historic choice. They chose the first ever Saskatchewan Party government, based on our new ideas and the commitments we made to sustain the economic momentum. For this honour and this great opportunity, we are both humbled by and grateful to the faith shown by the people of Saskatchewan in our Premier and in his government. But we are very mindful that along with this great opportunity, Saskatchewan people have also handed us some pretty clear expectations. They expect us to do what we said we would do. They expect us to keep our promises and to sustain the economic momentum. As my colleagues and I worked to prepare our first budget, these were our guiding principles. In fact, today I’ve chosen to wear a pair of special shoes as I deliver this first budget. Not just any shoes — they were the ones I wore as I campaigned last fall, as I went door to door talking to voters about our campaign commitments. And I wear them today to remind myself of these promises, and more importantly to remind myself it’s time to keep them. Today in Saskatchewan there’s a contagious optimism sweeping our province. After years of waiting, Saskatchewan people now sense that this is our time. Essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, and I quote, “A creative economy is the fuel of magnificence.” Saskatchewan is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. Our resource-rich yet diverse economy is red-hot. We are the envy of the nation with opportunities others can only dream about. We have stepped away from the economic shadow cast by our neighbour to the west. Saskatchewan quite simply has come of age. And we’re no longer a have-not province. In fact in many areas, we’re leading the nation. Retail sales growth, number one in Canada. Growth in international exports, number one in Canada. Growth in the value of building permits, number one in Canada. Housing starts are number one in Canada as more and more young families build new homes and make a clear and confident statement: our future is in Saskatchewan. We are currently experiencing the largest population growth in 30 years. Our population is rising as young families move back. Friends share with me and as a father and a grandfather I’m only too happy about the stories of sons, daughters, and grandchildren who are returning to this province. You know it used to be that when I drove through Melfort and saw the Alberta plates on the cars in the driveways, I knew that most were there for a very brief visit and soon would be packing up and heading back home to Alberta. Today I know that many of these Alberta plates will soon be coming off, and Saskatchewan plates will be taking their place. And that means a whole lot more than just trading in their car insurance. It means they’re also trading in and trading up for a future in Saskatchewan. Outside experts predict Saskatchewan will jump to the top of the economic growth in 2000 again. Again number one in Canada. More people are working in Saskatchewan than ever before. Our skilled labour force is hard pressed to keep up with the pace of demands for other workers. Simply put, Saskatchewan is on a roll. The task of our government and of this budget is to sustain the economic momentum to ensure that all Saskatchewan people enjoy the benefits of a growing economy, and to ensure that we meet the challenges and avoid the pitfalls of the rapid growth we have seen in other jurisdictions. Which brings us to where we are today. If we are to turn the current economic surge into an enduring period of sustained prosperity for our province, we must be ready for growth. In other places we’ve seen the problems and the pressures that can arise when an aging infrastructure fails to keep up the pace of growth. Those same pressures are now emerging in Saskatchewan. Simply put, while Saskatchewan is ready for growth, our infrastructure is not. Our schools are in need of upgrades and renewal to ensure educators have proper facilities to teach the future generations of this province. Our schools and health care facilities are now overstressed environments and at times no longer a place to find wellness. Our roads and highways are crumbling under the weight of heavy traffic from heavier loads. Saskatchewan is ready for growth, but our infrastructure is not. We must address the infrastructure shortfall that we have inherited. We simply must build up our schools, our hospitals, our roads, and our highways. We must make them ready, for they have important jobs to do. We must prepare for growth and we must make a significant investment in the future. The time for that investment is now. Today I am pleased to announce a ready-for-growth initiative — the largest capital investment in the history of Saskatchewan. Our government will invest $1 billion in infrastructure across Saskatchewan. One billion dollars to build and repair our hospitals, our highways, and our schools to ensure that Saskatchewan is ready for growth. Nearly $200 million will pay for key repairs and upgrades to our hospitals and health facilities, and will help to purchase new medical and safety equipment. We will enhance these centres of healing and take pride in their condition. For instance we’ll fix the leaking roofs at the health centres in Leader and Climax. And we must give hospitals in this province the capacity to keep up with health care demands. Capital dollars include plans to expand the Moose Jaw hospital and to also plan for a maternal child hospital within the Royal University Hospital. Over $160 million will focus on important upgrades and repairs to schools in rural and urban communities and make improvements to our universities and training centres. This money will give the green light to 11 new school projects across Saskatchewan. Over $400 million will help strengthen the crumbling roads and highways so that they can better carry the loads that go along with economic growth. This money will be used to help to reinforce roads so they are the lifelines connecting our communities, big and small. These dollars will support continued progress in northern First Nations access roads, to lessen the isolation they feel and ensure that they are fully ready to participate in a growing economy. This major investment will see the completion of twinning projects on major corridors, including Highways No. 1 and 16 and continuing progress on Highway 11 between Saskatoon and Prince Albert. Nearly $140 million will flow towards municipalities, including the building communities fund. Significant money will improve the correctional centre in Regina, modernize our emergency communication system, and will also be used to maintain government buildings and replace equipment. We’re also dedicating more funds to the forest fire fleet and to regional and provincial parks to protect and enhance the natural beauty of this great province. We will be ready to embrace the opportunities coming to us. Today we can afford these upgrades thanks to our thriving economy. We can’t afford to ignore the infrastructure flaws, hoping that things are going to get better on their own. We can’t afford to let the pressures of growth outpace our infrastructure’s ability to handle growth. These improvements are big steps on the path to sustaining our economy. The time for this investment is now and we can make these improvements because of the strength in the economy and our strong fiscal position. This initiative, this $1 billion capital investment in our schools, our highways, our hospitals, and our future will ensure that Saskatchewan is ready for growth. Our government came to power with an ambitious agenda. We were serious about the work ahead of us, and we will keep our promises to the people of Saskatchewan. I’m proud to say our government has already achieved significant progress. We have fixed election dates every four years, a smaller cabinet, stronger balanced budget legislation. We have kept these promises. We promised to remove the unpopular provincial sales tax on used cars, to provide cancer patients with access to drugs that will prolong their lives, and to make our streets and highways safer through stiffer penalties for drunk drivers. We have kept these promises. Thank you. We promised to introduce changes to ensure greater democracy in the workplace and to protect essential services. We have kept these promises. We promised to assemble a unique, forward-looking group of leaders to form Enterprise Saskatchewan, and we promised to invite First Nations leaders to round table discussions on the duty to consult. We have kept these promises. Today’s budget contains a fulfillment of funding of over 40 more commitments to benefit the people of Saskatchewan. Today’s budget will benefit the hungry and provide care for the vulnerable adults and children in our society — the very poor, the very sick, the addicted, and people who can no longer care for themselves or their families. Today’s budget will support active and healthy families in Saskatchewan, and encourage safe and vibrant communities. Today’s budget will strengthen health care and fund an effective education system. Today’s budget will benefit the people of Saskatchewan in a time of great economic momentum and prosperity. These are the commitments we made during last fall election campaign. Today’s budget will fulfill these commitments. Our government has big dreams and big plans for the children of this province. We want Saskatchewan children to be happy and well cared for. We want them to be healthy, and we want them to be active. Today’s budget will benefit Saskatchewan children and families. We promised to increase funding to school lunch and hunger programs, so our children can fill their minds with knowledge and not be distracted by empty stomachs. Today we are keeping that promise. We promised an improved prescription drug plan providing a $15 cap on drugs for children aged 14 and under. Today we are keeping that promise. We want families to enjoy the beautiful vacation spots Saskatchewan has to offer. That’s why we promised to eliminate the unpopular campfire permit fee and to increase funding Saskatchewan regional and provincial parks, to upgrade facilities, and create more electrified campsites. Today we are keeping that promise. We promised to make Saskatchewan’s children activities more affordable for our families. Today we are keeping that promise by announcing the new active families benefit which will come into effect for the 2009 tax year. Our government believes in a province where everyone is able to achieve their full potential, and we recognize the tremendous work done by community-based organizations to achieve this goal. And that’s why we promised to provide an additional $5 million a year to CBOs [community-based organization] that provide life skills and employment training. Today we are keeping that promise. Our government believes that a vibrant arts community is key to providing a high quality of life that attracts people to our province. And that’s why we promised to maintain funding for provincial arts organizations. And today we’re keeping that promise. A wonderful, popular saying among First Nations and indigenous communities around the world, which resonates with me as well, says treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors.We borrow it from our children. That’s why we promised a significant boost of $10 million to green initiatives funding, so we can keep our environment healthy and balanced and that so Saskatchewan will remain a beautiful and clean place to live. Today we are keeping that promise. Our government committed to doubling the caregiver tax credit to assist family caregivers who generously give of their time and compassion to help elderly, sick, or disabled family members. Today I am pleased to announce that we are not only keeping that promise; we will go further. We will also be increasing other tax credits that assist families in caring for their family members with disabilities. So we are keeping that promise as well today and enhancing it. We promised relief for the significant burden of property taxes in this province by increasing the educational property tax rebate from 10 to 12 per cent this year from homeowners and from 38 to 47 per cent for farmers. Today we are keeping that promise and increasing this tax credit to nearly $160 million of tax relief. This translates to an average farm landowner saving over $2,000 in taxes on their property, and we recognize that more work needs to be done to form long-term solutions to put this issue at rest. Today’s budget will benefit Saskatchewan as we work together to make our communities safe and vibrant. We promised to assist those in our society that need our help. We promised to commit major new funding to additional addiction treatment. Today we are keeping that promise. We promised over $1 million to support transition houses and sexual assault centres. Today we are keeping that promise. We also promised to make our communities safer by putting more police officers on the street. Today we’re keeping that promise. This budget provides an additional $3 million required to hire 30 more police officers who will be posted across the province. This is the first step in our four-year commitment to expand the police force by 120 new members. And we promised to increase the victim surcharge paid by offenders to provide additional support to the victims of crime. Today we are keeping that promise. Philosopher Henri Frederic Amiel said, “In health there is freedom. Health is the first of all liberties.” Today’s budget will give a much needed boost to health care in Saskatchewan. Our first step was to increase the Ministry of Health’s budget by over $300 million to over $3.7 billion. Health care professionals can expect the support they need in this year’s budget. We’ve recently announced that $60 million will flow towards a new Saskatchewan Union of Nurses partnership to begin to address the nursing shortage in our province. We’ve also promised significant new dollars to support the additional training seats for physicians and nurses. Today we are keeping that promise. We will encourage physician recruitment and retention for internationally trained medical graduates. We promised new funding to add more drugs to the prescription drug plan. Today we are keeping that promise. Our government will provide $6 million to make new and more effective prescription drugs available to Saskatchewan people. We promised to increase support for cancer patients, to increase funding to the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, and to cover the cost of Avastin and other much-needed cancer drugs and supplies. Today we are keeping that promise. We promised proactive measures to promote health and wellness in this province, and we promised to establish a 10-year capital plan for health care to keep our system in good shape for the future, to ensure our hospitals and health facilities are repaired and maintained to better meet the needs of the sick and the injured. Today we are keeping that promise. Today’s budget will benefit students in Saskatchewan. We are dedicating 75 million additional dollars to our university and post-education system to train, retain, and attract young people to Saskatchewan. This is the key to the prosperity of our province. We promised a bold, new initiative to keep more of our educated young people in Saskatchewan by offering $20,000 in tuition rebates over seven years following graduation. Today we are keeping that promise. We promised to help university students with their tuition costs, and we are providing another year of tuition freeze with an 8 per cent increase in operating costs dedicated to universities. Today we’re keeping that promise. We promised to increase support to the Johnson-Shoyama School of Public Policy to train brilliant minds for brilliant futures in the civil service right here in Saskatchewan. Today we are keeping that promise. We promised to address the labour shortage by increasing training opportunities throughout the province. Today we are keeping that promise. This budget supports the creation of 300 more training opportunities for on-reserve adult basic education seats through local college and the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology. We’ll also be working to develop further training opportunities through the $15 million dedicated to enhance training opportunities for under-skilled individuals in a new 6-year labour market agreement recently signed with the federal government. In addition to a significant capital investment, Saskatchewan schools, under a ready-for-growth initiative, we have promised to increase operating funding from K to 12 [kindergarten to grade 12]. Today we’re keeping that promise. We promised to maintain funding levels for child care and early childhood learning and Development programs in Saskatchewan. Today we’re keeping that promise. In fact this budget will add 500 more child care spaces, giving our respected child care workers a raise and including 38 new pre-kindergarten programs. We feel it’s vital to nourish childcare and early childhood learning and development so that our smallest citizens can learn about the wonders of education at a time when they are most receptive. Saskatchewan people will benefit from our thriving economy. We want to see everyone enjoy the benefits of opportunity and prosperity as we prepare for growth. We promised to fully fund our agricultural risk management programs, crop insurance and agri-stability and agri-invest programs formerly known as CAIS [Canadian agricultural income stabilization]. Today we are keeping that promise. Our government is committing over $220 million to fully fund these programs which includes a $25 million increase to the crop insurance program. We will also keep our promise to initiate a crop insurance review this year to provide better coverage for our producers. We promised to provide additional funding for the petroleum institute technology research centre, and we’ve also expanded the potential of CO2 capture. Today we’re keeping that promise. And we promised to introduce five-year interest free loans to municipalities in our Saskatchewan infrastructure growth initiative to assist communities in dealing with a growing demand for both commercial and residential lots. Today we’re keeping that province. As our economy grows, affordable homes are more difficult to find, especially for first-time homebuyers and renters. Our government is reviewing this issue and will take necessary steps to ensure that we all benefit from our province’s prosperity. We promise to dedicate the proceeds from the sale of the NewGrade upgrader to fixing our roads and highways. Today we’re not only keeping that promise; we’re accelerating our timetable by committing $140 million over the next two years to municipal roads and highways. We will develop plans this year in partnership with the Saskatchewan universities for a transportation centre of excellence. The centre’s purpose is to do research and test new technologies on road construction and repair to provide innovation that will improve our highway system. We promised to increase municipal revenue sharing at 7 per cent for the year 2008-09. Today we are keeping that promise. We promised to double tourism funding in this province to $16 million to spread the word of what a wonderful place Saskatchewan is to explore. Today we are keeping that promise. We promised to reinstate the Saskatchewan mineral exploration tax credit to encourage all Saskatchewan residents to participate in our economic success. Today we are keeping that promise. We promised to increase grants for First Nations consultations, including support for the mapping of traditional territories. Today we are keeping that promise. Today’s budget also recognizes that full participation in the economy by First Nations and Métis people is vital to sustaining our economic momentum. That’s why we will boost loans to the Northern Development Fund to assist with business development and diversification and create more jobs in northern Saskatchewan. Our government wants to expand on programs promoting self-reliance in communities and employment and business development. We will continue to make grants available to Aboriginal entrepreneurs to create more businesses with the spinoff effect of more jobs to our First Nations people. We will also enhance partnerships and open lines of communications between employers, training centres, and Aboriginal people. Our government believes in the incredible talents, creativity, and skills of our First Nations residents. We believe in what they can achieve, and we will offer them the tools they need to get there. Our government believes that the foundation of a growing economy and long-term prosperity for our province is sound fiscal management, balancing the budget, and paying down debt. That’s why we promised our first budget would include $250 million for debt reduction in order to lessen the burden on future generations. Today we are keeping that promise. And we promised to balance the budget. I’m very pleased to announce today that we are keeping that promise. This budget is balanced. French author, Anatole France who’s believed to have said: To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but we must also dream; not only [to] plan, but also to believe. Today’s budget provides not only a vision, but also a plan for securing Saskatchewan’s future. It’s about our dreams for the future. It’s about action, the action that we must take to be ready for this growth. Our government’s plan for the future is financially sustainable. Today I have presented a four-year fiscal plan that is balanced. We’ve developed a $1 billion ready-for-growth infrastructure plan to lead us into that future. To bring our hospitals, our schools, our roads, and our highways up to date requires the largest investment in public infrastructure in the history of our great province as we continue to strive to do better. This budget ensures we’ll keep our promises to the people of Saskatchewan. We’ll follow up on every commitment I’ve announced today to ensure that every detail is done, right down to hammering the last nail. Today Saskatchewan people are looking to the future with unprecedented hope and optimism. Yet in typical Saskatchewan fashion, there’s a common sense sort of practicality in this optimism. They want it to be our unique own Saskatchewan brand of growth — growth that maintains everything that is great about this province: our high quality of life, our pristine environment, and our strong sense of community. And they are asking, are we ready? Are we ready for all the opportunities that are coming our way? Are we ready to fulfill the endless possibilities the future has to offer? Are we ready for growth? I believe the answer is yes and that, years from now when future generations look back on this pivotal moment in our province’s history, they will see that we did make the right choices. We did make the right investments in our future, and we were indeed ready for growth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.