Jeremy Cockrill talks new budget impacts on the Battlefords and area

The budget includes funding for a new urgent care centre in the Battlefords, aimed at easing the burden on emergency rooms.

“Urgent care is a relatively new model to Saskatchewan, but it’s being done all over the country and in the United States as well,” Cockrill said, explaining that the initiative is meant to close the care gap for the 18 per cent of patients unattached to a doctor or nurse practitioner.

He pointed to Regina’s urgent care centre as an example of its success, saying it has treated nearly 30,000 patients since opening, helping to relieve pressure on the city’s emergency department.

“That urgent care model is really going to fill that middle,” he said. “So we’re looking forward to expanding that here [in the Battlefords].”

The province is also expanding dialysis services at Battlefords Union Hospital, which Cockrill said “is able to take 10 more people off the waitlist.”

A similar expansion in Meadow Lake is expected to benefit 12 households.

“By adding the services on this Highway 4 corridor, we’re keeping more patients in our part of the province closer to home, which is really important,” he added.

Plans are also moving forward to replace the aging Battlefords and District Care Centre.

“That is a fairly old facility in our community, and it’s time for replacement, and we also need more long-term care beds, so we’re looking forward to continuing on that,” Cockrill said.

Education pilot program to expand in Battlefords

Cockrill praised the specialized support classroom pilot at St. Mary’s School in North Battleford, calling it the best in the province.

“Our community is one of the first communities to see the specialized support classroom pilot. When I’m down in Regina, [and] I visit most of them in the province. These guys have the best one here,” he said.

The program, which provides additional support for students with learning challenges, has helped reduce absenteeism and improve literacy and math performance, he noted.

Due to its success, the initiative will expand to include at least one, possibly two more classrooms.

Tax cuts aim to ease financial pressure

The budget includes tax relief measures aimed at easing the cost of living.

“Everything’s more expensive, whether it’s a new vehicle, whether it’s your mortgage payment, whether it’s your rent payment,” Cockrill said.

“Funding in this budget is the largest income tax cut that we’ve seen in the province since 2008.”

The basic personal exemption will increase by $500 annually over the next four years, along with increases to spousal, senior, and dependent exemptions.

Thorsteinson emphasized the government’s focus on financial responsibility.

“We need to focus on fiscal sustainability and fiscal certainty going forward,” he said.

NDP criticizes budget for lacking long-term vision

NDP MLA Keith Jorgenson of Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood was also in attendance and criticized the budget for failing to address the province’s long-term challenges.

“We’re very disappointed in the provincial budget. Just don’t think it’s focused on the future and all the challenges that we are facing as a province, and people here in the Battlefords are facing,” he said.

He also said the budget lacked a contingency fund for tariffs from America and China.

The 2025-26 provincial budget does not account for potential U.S. and Chinese tariffs due to the unpredictability surrounding their implementation and duration.

Finance Minister Jim Reiter explained, “We simply don’t know what tariffs the U.S. will ultimately impose and how long they will remain in effect—as a result, it was not possible to build the exact impact of the tariffs into the budget.”

-With files from 980 CJME-

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com

by Kenneth Cheung

Jeremy Cockrill talks new budget impacts on the Battlefords and area

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