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Northern advocacy group calls for status quo budget

Apr 9, 2018 | 5:00 PM

An advocacy group working on behalf of northern municipalities is looking for a status quo budget this year from the provincial government.

New North’s CEO Matt Heley said the organization hoped to see a more tame budget than the one tabled last year.

“If we see a status quo budget, that doesn’t sound like something you’d hope for but given what happened last year, last year’s budget had so many surprises in it,” Heley said. “Some of the announcements in it were shocking, really.”

He noted the closure of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company as one surprising announcement in the budget, and said the closure of the provincial bussing service came as a dramatic blow to northern residents.

A budget maintaining the existing level of services in the North is something New North would take no issue with, according to the organizations CEO. Heley said the organization would like to see the provincial government live up to their commitments to mental health in the north in the April 10 budget. He said one way to do so would be to direct funds towards converting the former correctional facility in Buffalo Narrows into a mental health centre.

Heley said the community had already purchased the building, and it previously cost the government $1 million per year to run as a correctional centre. He suggested giving the money to the community to run a mental health and addictions treatment centre in the space, which could also reduce the number of people in the correctional system.

“We know that the provincial government, courtesy of the federal government, are required to spend a certain percentage of their budget on mental health and we’re a little concerned that perhaps some of that is not coming back to the North,” he said, adding investing in the treatment centre would show the SaskParty’s commitment to northern mental health.

Declining resource prices was another topic Heley would like addressed in this year’s budget.

“Last year’s budget, where they increased PST because they wanted to wean themselves off resource royalties, sort of recognized that the resources are not doing that well at the moment,” Heley said. “Perhaps they could have a look at how that’s also impacting northern Saskatchewan, where Cameco is experiencing some issues with uranium prices.”

Heley said due to the decline in resource prices, it is essential for the government to invest in other projects and programs benefiting northern residents. He suggested creating education and training opportunities for workers impacted by the layoffs at two Cameco mines, so they could move into different fields in case the mines don’t return to full capacity.

Looking ahead, Heley said he would like to see the province match recent commitments from the federal government around housing, and hopes to see the provincial budget provide a firm number of the houses the plan to build in 2018.

“I really don’t think we’re going to see anything like that tomorrow, but moving ahead, we’ll see,” Heley said.

 

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas