Budget Debate (24 March 2022)

From Hansard (24 March 2022)

 

Budget Debate

Mr. McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m once again honoured to have the opportunity to rise in this House and address the Assembly. I’m further honoured to have this opportunity to second the motion put forward by our Minister of Finance in support of the 2022-2023 Saskatchewan budget, without amendment.

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that we are gathered on Treaty 4 territory, and the traditional homeland of the Métis. We are all treaty people, Mr. Speaker.

I also want to take a moment to once again thank the good people of Moose Jaw North, who have entrusted me with responsibility to represent them in this Assembly and speak on their behalf. And of course I want to specifically thank our esteemed Minister of Finance, together with her deputy minister, staff, and officials. They have prepared a budget that we can all be proud of and excited about, Mr. Speaker, and I am.

I am not only honoured to be seconding this motion and supporting this budget, but I am excited to do so. The theme of this year’s budget is “back on track.” And if you’ll pardon the pun, that got my wheels turning.

You see, Mr. Speaker, I’m a bit of a movie buff. So as I was preparing to give these remarks, my friend, the member from Arm River, challenged me to include a movie reference. The member from Martensville-Warman overheard that challenge, and he suggested I refer to the film Planes, Trains and Automobiles starring John Candy and Steve Martin. What better film could I possibly find to fit the theme “back on track”? The problem with the suggestion, Mr. Speaker, is that I really did not enjoy that movie. I know it’s a classic blockbuster film starring a Canadian comedy legend, but I really just didn’t like it.

For those who may not have seen it, the premise of the film is that the main character, played by Steve Martin, is trying to get home to his family for Thanksgiving. He ends up meeting John Candy’s character, and together the two of them face a series of unexpected challenges that impede their ability to reach their desired destinations. Upon reflection, Mr. Speaker, I think that’s why I dislike the movie: it provokes feelings of frustration and anxiety. Repeated stumbling blocks beyond one’s control have a tendency to do that. By the end of the film, the main character ultimately reaches his desired destination and the stress and the anxiety and the frustration is relieved.

As we look back on the past two years, Mr. Speaker, doesn’t that sound familiar? The past two years have been filled with unexpected stumbling blocks that have posed significant challenges for our province, perhaps more significant than any of us have ever experienced in our lifetimes. Repeatedly we faced circumstances that restricted our ability to make the progress we desired, progress that we knew we were otherwise capable of. Naturally, that’s been incredibly frustrating.

But we are back on track now, Mr. Speaker. Those feelings of frustration and anxiety are lifting, and the locomotive that is the province of Saskatchewan continues moving forward with unstoppable force. And we’re picking up speed. We are driven by an economic engine that has generated over $12 billion of new investments in the past two years despite the headwinds we were facing in that time. The people of this great province are the wheels of that train, turning in unison, continually moving Saskatchewan forward.

And we have the cargo on board, Mr. Speaker. Saskatchewan is loaded with the goods and services that the entire world needs. As our Premier often says, we have the food, the fuel, and the fertilizer. We have great products, Mr. Speaker, and we have even greater people. On this side of the House, we all know that to be true. I believe the vast majority of the people of this province know it too. So why am I repeating it? Why is it important, Mr. Speaker? Because, as the Premier pointed out in his address to SARM [Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities] last week, it matters where countries choose to do business and where they source their food and energy from. It matters because here in Saskatchewan we can provide those things to the rest of the world and we can do so in ethical and environmentally responsible ways.

And that matters, Mr. Speaker, because when we market what we have here in Saskatchewan, we grow our economy, which in turn creates jobs and benefits for our citizens. This budget gets us on track to support and facilitate this process, Mr. Speaker. It gets our economy back on track, which puts our finances back on track, which allows us to get our government services back on track.

Mr. Speaker, one of the most important roles of government is to create an environment that facilitates the realization of great ideas, and one where the people and businesses in our communities have the opportunity to flourish. This budget does that, Mr. Speaker.

In this budget, we see investments in highways, health, and justice that will offer more infrastructure and build safer, stronger, healthier communities. Investments in social services, education, and our Indigenous community will support Saskatchewan families, making life more affordable and creating more jobs. This budget offers new services and provides for new and expanding programs.

Mr. Speaker, all of these things build on each other, generating even more goods and services to market around the globe, which then gives us the ability to invest in more programs and services. On and on, we continue to support our people, build our province, and grow our economy. Working in unison, like the parts of a train, our province steadily moves forward together. This budget demonstrates our government’s commitment to this process, Mr. Speaker.

So let’s take a closer look at some of the examples to confirm and highlight this point. I’ll start in the area of mental health and addictions, Mr. Speaker. We all recognize that the mental health of citizens around the world is a very real concern coming out of the past couple of years. And that’s why our government is making the largest investment ever in this area totalling $470 million to provide essential programs and services, including counselling, treatment, and preventative measures specifically targeting mental health and addictions.

We have already seen the addition of 38 more pre- and postaddiction treatment beds operating in multiple communities across the province. We promised 50 new treatment spaces each year for the next three years, and we’ve already delivered 38 of those in just the first few months since the Throne Speech. We have new addiction treatment beds in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Lloydminster, and Regina. And I’m pleased to say that treatment beds for my home community of Moose Jaw are being finalized as we speak and will be announced soon.

With regard to our seniors and those living in care homes, Mr. Speaker, our government remains on track with our commitment to hire additional continuing care aides in long-term care and home care facilities. This budget provides funding for another 117 CCAs [continuing care aide]. That’s over and above the 110 promised last fall, 94 per cent of which have already been hired. This budget allows us to continue taking steps to provide highquality care that meets the needs of residents receiving home care and those living in long-term care homes across Saskatchewan.

In the Ministry of Justice, Mr. Speaker, our government is fulfilling a Throne Speech that promised to create the provincial protective services branch. This initiative will unite provincial peace officers under a single organizational structure. It is a $50 million investment to ensure safer communities by providing more efficient and coordinated delivery of our protective services.

Another 6.4 million will be invested to establish the Saskatchewan trafficking response team to specifically target drug and human trafficking crimes. We are also expanding crime reduction teams across the province with an investment of $3.2 million. And another $220,000 will be provided to the internet child exploitation, or ICE, unit to protect our children from online predators. These initiatives will promote innovative police practices, and they demonstrate our government’s commitment to building safer communities.

In education, Mr. Speaker, our government is making a record investment of more than $2.8 billion. We are continuing to advance the construction of 15 new schools and the renovation of five existing schools with an investment of $95.2 million in this budget. In this budget we also see $4.5 million for the creation of a minor capital renewal plan that will allow school divisions to address structural repairs and renovations that will help prolong the life of their schools. This new funding is of particular interest to myself and my colleague from Moose Jaw Wakamow because it will assist the renovations at École St. Margaret School in Moose Jaw.

Our government also remains committed to the completion of our ambitious capital plan in education which will see new schools in Saskatoon, Regina, La Loche, Blaine Lake, Carrot River, Lanigan, and perhaps most importantly, in Moose Jaw.

Still focusing on improving education in our province, this budget also provides new funding for the 2022-23 school year that will establish a fund to hire up to another 200 educational assistants across the province. We are also providing nearly $2 billion to Saskatchewan’s school division operations, which includes fully funding the increase to teachers’ salary contracts. And it also includes an additional $6 million for learning supports for students.

Mr. Speaker, our highways will continue receiving upgrades under this budget — another 1100 kilometres in fact — which means this government has invested more than $11.5 billion in transportation infrastructure since 2008. That also keeps us on track for our growth plan goal of 10 000 kilometres of highway upgrades by 2030.

Here’s a fun fact, Mr. Speaker: 10 000 kilometres of highways is difficult for many of us to wrap our heads around, so I took a moment to search up what well-known cities are 10 000 kilometres apart, just to get an appreciation for precisely how significant that distance is. I learned that if you could travel in a straight line, 10 000 kilometres of highway would get you from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Berlin, Germany, or from London, England to Cape Town, South Africa. It would get you from Paris to Tokyo, Mr. Speaker, or from Regina, Saskatchewan to Guatemala twice. I hope that puts into perspective just how significant our goal of 10 000 kilometres of highway upgrades by 2030 truly is. And we are on track to achieve that target, Mr. Speaker.

This budget includes an increase of more than 20 per cent funding for Indigenous-led initiatives. That increase will make available $75 million for the Saskatchewan Indigenous finance corporation. Those funds will provide loan guarantees for private-sector lending to Indigenous communities and organizations. Our government is also investing in several other Indigenous-led initiatives that promote economic development within our Indigenous communities and advance reconciliation efforts across the province.

Mr. Speaker, another piece of this budget that I am very excited about is the funding increase to Creative Saskatchewan grant program. That program currently receives $2 million in funding, but under this budget the funding will increase to $10 million. The Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport has worked in collaboration with industry to expand this initiative, which aims at attracting investment and supports the growth of the film and television industry here in Saskatchewan.

Mr. Speaker, that industry has changed significantly in recent years with the widespread availability and popularity of streaming services. I’m excited to see what economic spinoffs and benefits can be realized in our local communities when this recently transformed industry is thriving once again.

Perhaps the most obvious example of our government’s commitment to keeping this province back on track can be found in health, Mr. Speaker. Once again our government is making a record investment in health care in this province with a budget of $6.8 billion this year. These funds will address surgical wait times, mental health and addictions, and many other priorities, Mr. Speaker. One of those priorities included in this budget is the $156 million in infrastructure spending, 54 million of which will go towards the new hospitals in Prince Albert and Weyburn and in new urgent care centres in Regina and Saskatoon.

But perhaps more prominent in people’s minds right now will be the $21.6 million that our government is specifically dedicating to reduce surgical wait times in this province. To achieve this, we will be funding thousands of additional surgeries each year for the next three years. That’s thousands more surgeries on top of the normal volume of surgical procedures already being conducted so that our surgical backlog can be eliminated within the next three years.

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Finance pointed out, this will be the largest volume of surgical procedures ever performed in the history of Saskatchewan. It is an aggressive plan to return surgical wait times to pre-pandemic levels, but these surgeries are critically important to our communities and to our government and we are committed to achieving this goal.

This point really hit home for me in the last few weeks, Mr. Speaker, when I learned about a young boy in Moose Jaw named Beau Beddow. I spoke about Beau and his family in a members’ statement last week. Beau attends school with my children, and he is only a year or two younger than my son Lauchlan.

In February Beau and his younger sister both became ill with what the family believed was the flu, except Beau didn’t seem to be getting better. In the first week of March, doctors discovered that Beau had a large tumour growing at the base of his brain. On March 15th, Beau underwent a long and complicated surgery at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon, where doctors were able to successfully remove 99 per cent of that tumour.

I spoke with Beau’s grandfather, Terry Wolfe, earlier this week and I asked him how Beau was doing. Terry told me that his grandson still has a long and difficult road to recovery ahead of him, Mr. Speaker. But he also added this: “Our family fully understands that in many other jurisdictions around the world, if doctors saw a child in Beau’s condition, they would have sent him home and told the family to enjoy what little time he had left.” But here in Saskatchewan, within two weeks of his diagnosis, Beau was receiving life-saving surgery from one of the best neurosurgeons in North America at a state-of-the-art facility in Saskatoon.

Mr. Speaker, he went on to say, “We don’t know yet how this will all turn out for little Beau, but our health care system here in Saskatchewan has given this young man a fighting chance, and that’s all we could have asked for.”

Surgical wait-lists matter, Mr. Speaker. And our government recognizes that fact and we are committed to addressing this situation in a massive way. I’ll say it again: with the funding from this budget, thousands of additional procedures, amounting to the largest surgical volumes in our province’s history, will be performed and we will eliminate the surgical backlog over the next three years.

Mr. Speaker, to further demonstrate how seriously our government is committed to health care in this province, I would also point to the fact that we are recruiting 300 more nurses from the Philippines. And we are also adding another 150 nurse training seats at our post-secondary institutions, on top of the current complement of nurses that we already train. This will significantly increase the number of nurses working in Saskatchewan, which will offer more jobs locally and will be critical to meeting future demands in the health care system.

Finally on this subject, Mr. Speaker, we are continuing to add more intensive care beds as we work to increase the total number of ICU beds available in our province from 79 to 110. Health care matters to this government, Mr. Speaker, and our actions and the commitments we are making through this budget demonstrate that.

Finally this budget also recognizes and supports the important work that our community-based organizations are doing every day for people living with disabilities. Our government is providing more than $400 million to these CBOs [communitybased organization], which is an increase of almost $50 million since 2018.

We are also assisting low-income families to better afford housing costs by providing up to $11.5 million through the Sask housing benefit program. And despite all of these things, Mr. Speaker, this budget still manages to significantly reduce the provincial deficit and puts us back on track to achieving a balanced budget by 2026.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I support this motion and the budget presented by the Minister of Finance because it is helping this province get back on track. We are fully loaded with the goods and services that the rest of the world needs. Working together, we are poised to fully participate in the global economic recovery.

We are moving forward, Mr. Speaker, and we are picking up speed. We most certainly will not allow the proposed amendment by the opposition to derail this province and stop us from reaching our desired destination. Mr. Speaker, perhaps the NDP members opposite should consider getting on board with this budget, because this train is back on track and it is moving ahead. And if they miss it, Mr. Speaker, they’re going to be left standing alone on nothing more than their shaky old platform.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to support this budget, and I second the motion put forward by the Minister of Finance with no amendments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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