MLA Report

2 February 2012

Spring Session and Budget

Premier Wall has announced that the spring session of the Legislative Assembly will begin on Monday March 5th. The initial focus of the upcoming session will be the 2012-13 provincial budget, the first of our second term. To be delivered on March 21st, this budget will be balanced, keep the Saskatchewan economy strong and growing, and deliver on our modest campaign promises.

Those promises were designed to ensure that all residents continue to benefit from Saskatchewan’s historic growth.

We said we would take further steps to make post-secondary education more accessible and affordable. The Saskatchewan Advantage Scholarship program will provide up to $2,000 over four years to high school graduates to reduce the cost of post-secondary tuition in Saskatchewan. Our province already has the best graduate retention program in the country, but we think it is important to continue taking action to ensure our young people choose Saskatchewan as the best place to live, build a career and raise a family.

This year’s budget also contains measures that will make life more affordable for families, such as an expansion to the PST exemption for kids’ clothing. This tax change took effect November 15, 2011, and applies to children aged 15 to 17. This means a 5 per cent saving on all children’s clothing.

We have also expanded The Active Families Benefit to all children under 18 years of age. This annual refundable tax benefit helps offset the cost of children participating in cultural, recreational, and sport activities. Parents can claim up to $150 per child.

Another challenge that our government has been working to solve is that of affordable housing. To that end we have introduced the new and expanded First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit that came into effect January 1, 2012. This initiative provides a provincial non-refundable income tax credit of up to $1,100 to eligible taxpayers.

We can take these important measures for a couple of reasons: continued historic growth of Saskatchewan’s economy and our government’s commitment to manage that growth responsibly. Saskatchewan’s population has increased every quarter since April 2006, lately reaching an all-time high of 1,063,535 people. In December 2011, we had 523,500 people working in Saskatchewan, a record for that month. Further, we had the second fewest number of people receiving EI in Canada, at 1.2 per cent. Our economy is feeling the effect. Over the past year Saskatchewan’s average earnings were the second highest in Canada.

This is a clear indication that the Saskatchewan Party is leading the province in the right direction. We are aware that growth brings challenges and we will work to meet those challenges.

The Premier once said that the only day better than today in Saskatchewan is tomorrow in Saskatchewan. As I prepare for a busy spring session, I will be keeping that statement in mind.

If you have a question about this Legislative Report or any other matter, just Contact Wayne.

Past Legislative Reports