Legislative Report
13 May 2021

Saskatchewan Leading the Nation in Job Growth

Our focus throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been to ensure health and safety as well as provide needed supports for individuals, families, and our economy. I am proud to say Saskatchewan has the best vaccination rollout in all of Canada, the best re-opening plan in all of Canada, and the best jobs record in all of Canada.

In April, most provinces saw their job numbers decline and unemployment go up. In Saskatchewan, employment was up by 9,500 new jobs – the strongest job growth in all of Canada. Unemployment fell to 6.6 per cent – the lowest in Canada.

New job numbers show more women, more men, and more young people working. There were more construction jobs, more tech jobs, more jobs in agriculture, in manufacturing, health care and education. In fact, there were more jobs in almost every area.

Infrastructure Investments

Investing in infrastructure during a pandemic provides a unique opportunity to create jobs and improve quality of life. For example, our government continues moving forward on approved projects under the Municipal Economic Enhancement Program (MEEP).

A total of 760 Saskatchewan municipalities have now received funds through MEEP, which is a key component of our two-year, $7.5 billion capital plan to build a strong province and stimulate our economic recovery. To learn more or to see a complete list of approved projects, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/municipal-economic-enhancement.

Phase Three of the Rural Integrated Roads for Growth (RIRG) program will see 69 RMs receive $25.7 million in funding this year. The program helps with the cost of building and upgrading infrastructure, which in turn helps support industries like agriculture, energy, and forestry, with grants covering up to 50 per cent of each project's total cost, to a maximum of $500,000.

More than $50 million in joint federal and provincial funding was recently announced for 55 infrastructure projects under the COVID-19 Resilience Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. Projects include active transportation networks, walking paths, accessibility and energy efficiency upgrades in communities across the province.

While our government continues to invest in infrastructure, we are also providing a significant injection into the economy through SGI rebates. Over the next month, SGI will begin to mail out 709,000 rebate cheques to eligible individuals, non-profit organizations and businesses. If you have not received your rebate by June 30, you should call SGI's Customer Service Centre at 1-844-TLK-2SGI (1-844-855-2744).

Growing Forestry and Export Markets

Since last summer, Saskatchewan's forestry sector is booming as global market demand has surged for home construction and renovation materials. Our province is well-positioned to benefit from emerging opportunities with further expansion of existing mills, new mills, increased employment, and exports. Saskatchewan's Growth Plan includes a goal to double the growth of our forestry sector by 2030.

As an exporting province, it is important to diversify and grow our export markets coming out of the global pandemic, ensuring a strong economic recovery. The expansion plan of Saskatchewan's international presence includes new trade and investment offices in London (United Kingdom), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Mexico City (Mexico), and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). These new trade and investment offices will expand our international network and support Growth Plan goals such as increasing the value of our exports by 50 per cent and increasing the number of international markets to which we export more than $1 billion.

Step One of Re-Opening Set for May 30

Saskatchewan recently surpassed the COVID-19 vaccination threshold for Step One of our Re-Opening Roadmap. As a result, Sunday, May 30 is now the target date to implement the first phase of re-opening, which means:

• Restaurants and bars open, maximum of six at a table, two metres or structural barriers between tables, dance floors and buffets remain closed, VLTs may re-open;
• 30 per cent of capacity or 150 people, whichever is less, at places of worship, with physical distancing between households;
• Group fitness classes involving intense training, like aerobics and spin, can resume, with three metres between participants;
• Current restrictions remain in place for retail, personal care services, event facilities, casinos, bingo halls, theatres, art galleries, libraries and recreational facilities;
• Current protocols remain in place for primary, secondary and post-secondary education and for childcare;
• Limit of 10 people at private indoor and outdoor gatherings, including household gatherings;
• Limit of 30 people at public indoor gatherings;
• Limit of 150 people at public outdoor gatherings; and
• Current province-wide masking mandate remains in place.

I want to thank the thousands of health care workers who are delivering COVID-19 vaccine shots every day in every part of the province, and I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of Saskatchewan people who have done your part by getting vaccinated. Please continue to follow public health orders and, when you’re eligible for your first and second dose of the vaccine, do your part and stick it to COVID.