Pictured L-R: Mayor of North Battleford, David Gillan, and Battlefords Chamber of Commerce Chief Operating Officer, Linda Machniak. (File photos/battlefordsNOW)

By Martin Martinson

Sask Budget 2024

N.B. Mayor, local Chamber offer positive reception to provincial budget

Mar 21, 2024 | 5:48 PM

Following the release of the 2024-25 provincial budget, North Battleford Mayor, David Gillan and Battlefords Chamber of Commerce Chief Operating Officer, Linda Machniak weighed in on some of the key takeaways for local community and business community.

While the provincial deficit may have been a point of contention to some, Gillian said he doesn’t see it as a concern, but rather, a byproduct of the province’s growing population.

“I wasn’t too worried about the small deficit, to be honest, as I think a growing province needs to grow its services – whether that’s education or healthcare – within its communities like North Battleford, so I’m pleased and I kind of expected this,” the North Battleford Mayor said.

“I’m not too worried about a little bit of debt, because our net debt to our GDP (total gross domestic product) is at about a 14 per cent ratio which is still second-lowest in Canada, so we still have a very strong balance sheet here in the province of Saskatchewan. I applaud that they’re not worried about a small deficit and we financially as a province can handle a small deficit, especially as we’re a growing province.”

While grants for community staples such as policing, libraries, and transit for people with disabilities all remain at the same levels as a year ago, Gillan said one positive increase is the additional funds given to addressing homelessness.

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“Homelessness and addictions was a big file as well and I’m glad to see more funding for emergency shelter beds, albeit, most of it is going to Regina and Saskatoon. But I believe in the future that will have a trickle-down effect into the smaller cities as well, as the province sees more success in investing in emergency shelter beds and supportive housing. I’m encouraged the spending is increasing provincially, and hopefully in the future, we’ll see some of that [in North Battleford].”

Machniak said on the business side of things, keeping the small business tax rate unchanged at one per cent for another year, was also among the big positives.

“I know there was lots of advocacy work in the Chamber network around that policy, and they also kept the threshold for small business taxation at $600,000 so that keeps us at the tops in the country in that regard which is also a positive thing,” she said.

Machniak added that if there was one area of the budget to keep an eye on in the coming years, that could really be of benefit in the future, it would be lowering the provincial sales tax.

“I know the provincial chamber commented that while they were happy there were no increased taxes, they would further encourage the government to consider lowering the PST next go around,” she said. “Certainly, on some things, I know the municipalities talk a lot about having the PST re-taken off municipal construction and how much that’s impacting the projects they can do.”

However, all things considered, she – like Gillan – said the budget reflects where Saskatchewan is at as a growing destination.

“I think it acknowledges we’re driving economic growth in this province, and I think it was certainly not unexpected. Most of the budget items were not unexpected,” she said.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @MartyMartyPxP1