Saskatchewan budget 2016-17 at a glance
Deficit: From a forecasted surplus of $106 million there is now a deficit of $434 million. That number will grow even further when the Crown numbers are included which won’t happen until later this month or into July.
Scrapping Active Families Benefit: As promised in the election campaign, there are no tax hikes. This includes a decision not to increase sin taxes. The province is following a decision by the federal government to scrap the active families’ tax benefit, which gave families a break on the cost of sports and recreation activities. This should save the government $5.5 million.
Prescription Drug Costs for Kids and Seniors: To cut spending with the intention of working to pay off the deficit, you pay $5 more for children and seniors’ prescription drug costs. The cap will rise from $20 to $25. That impacts roughly 66,600 families with children, costing them $20 per year. 120,000 seniors will see drug costs rise $80 per year, on average. The cost of the drug plan has grown by an average of $10 million annually since 2012-13. The higher cap is intended to offset the cost of the annual increase by about $6.75 million.
Municipal Parks: The government will no longer fund five of seven urban municipal parks, including Battlefords River Valley and Chinook Parkway in Swift Current. This cut will save $540,000 per year. Wascana Park and the Meewasin Trail will form part of the discussion on transformational change.