Budget Debate (8 April 2021)

From Hansard (8 April 2021)

Budget Debate

Mr. Keisig: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is an honour to rise in the Assembly and speak about the 2021-22 budget on behalf of the amazing constituents from Last Mountain-Touchwood. It is an absolute pleasure to serve them. This budget almost certainly builds Saskatchewan and assists in keeping life affordable for families.

Before I get too involved in talking about the budget, Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not discuss what is truly important to every member in this Chamber — our families. My wife, Sheila Keisig, is an administrator at the rural municipality of Tullymet. She is also the vice-president of the rural administrators’ association of Saskatchewan. So needless to say, Mr. Speaker, she keeps me very well informed on the issues at a municipal level.

My oldest daughter, Shannara, is enrolled in the continuing care aid course at Sask Polytechnic. She also works part-time in Strasbourg at the Last Mountain pioneer care home. She will be delighted to hear of our government’s commitment to hiring 100 more CCAs [continuing care aid] across this province at the cost of $6 million. Continuing care aids are a cornerstone of seniors’ health care in this province. They deserve recognition and gratitude for their work every day, providing care to all of their clients. With this budget, Mr. Speaker, this government understands the needs of seniors’ care and is looking to assist in the best way possible, by hiring more staff.

My youngest daughter, Sharlize, was attending university a year ago and enjoying her education in Saskatoon. However like many other students across this province, she was struggling with online and distance learning due to the pandemic. She opted not to return after Christmas and has chosen a new career path. She is currently employed at a veterinary clinic in the city here, Mr. Speaker, and genuinely enjoys her work there. She is enrolled in the animal health technology course and begins her studies this fall.

I’m incredibly proud of my daughters and all the hard work they’ve put into their education. Both of them are studying and planning to stay in Saskatchewan once completing their education. Like many other students throughout the province, my daughters will be pleased to hear that the budget is building upon existing support programs for students, which includes the graduate retention program. The program provides up to $20,000 in tax credits to eligible post-secondary students who remain in Saskatchewan and build their careers here.

Mr. Speaker, this is an excellent incentive for students. We need to ensure that our students continue to keep their roots firmly planted in Saskatchewan. They are our future. We will do this with the most aggressive youth retention program in Canada, as well as continue to build on our lakes, tourism, and job creation to keep Saskatchewan vibrant and appealing to our students. To date there have been over 75,000 post-secondary graduates that have claimed these careers in Saskatchewan.

I also want to thank my constituency assistant, Tina Knowles. She has been integral in my work as an MLA for Last Mountain-Touchwood. Her work ethic and effort does not go unnoticed by myself and all constituents of Last Mountain-Touchwood. The constituency is very fortunate to have her working on their behalf.

I also want to thank the Legislative Assembly Service, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Putz and Ms. Ursulescu and all the staff have been wonderful to work with. I know everyone in the Chamber knows what the Legislative Assembly Service is, however my mother is watching, Mr. Speaker, so I will explain for her benefit and all the people across Saskatchewan watching now about the operation of the Legislative Assembly Service.

The LAS [Legislative Assembly Service] is a non-partisan, impartial arm of the Legislative Assembly that assists members with their duties and ensures continuity of government from one legislature to the next. They’ve done an excellent job of putting on informational seminars for all newly elected MLAs. These seminars have been very interesting and very well attended by my colleagues. I would like to encourage all the new members opposite to participate in these seminars and broaden their knowledge base. This will assist every MLA in serving their constituents and ultimately the people of Saskatchewan. This pandemic has been challenging, but I would like to commend the LAS staff for ensuring that new MLAs like myself are well prepared to serve the people of Saskatchewan.

I want to thank our Finance minister for doing a terrific job on presenting the budget. COVID has provided its challenges and she has managed very well ensuring that the budget protects, builds, and grows Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan will recover from this pandemic and we, as a province, will come out stronger than ever. I’ve said this many times, Madam Speaker. Saskatchewan people are some of the most resilient people I know. We will recover and we will grow.

Madam Deputy Speaker, COVID is now a topic that is just as famous as the weather in Saskatchewan. Many people in my constituency are patiently waiting for their turn to receive their vaccine. The vaccine is a way out of the pandemic for us all. This budget includes $4 million in operating funding to the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, VIDO, which is in addition to the government’s previous commitments of 15 million to support VIDO’s centre for pandemic research.

Madam Deputy Speaker, 4.2 million is going towards vaccine development and construction of a new vaccine manufacturing facility. I’m looking forward to reading about all their upcoming clinical trials scheduled for this fall. We are seeing Saskatchewan leading in Canada for research, development, and production of new vaccines. This production will help us in the future in protecting Canadians against pandemics. Even in pandemics, Saskatchewan people are thinking ahead, protecting, building, and growing this great province.

COVID has taken its toll on all of us in Saskatchewan, which is why I’m pleased to see this budget invest 458 million for mental health and addictions programs and services. This amount is up 5.4 per cent from last year. This investment will allow for youth-focused initiatives and investing in suicide prevention and addictions treatment. This is a needed investment to our province with the current struggles we are facing during these increasingly challenging times.

Our government has yet again fulfilled a campaign commitment with a $5 million increase which will expand eligibility under the Saskatchewan insulin pump program. I know many people that have diabetes. It is very costly. I am relieved that the pump will now be covered for people in this province who need one. Funding will also cover costs for continuous glucose monitoring for children and youth under the age of 18. The expansion of the Saskatchewan insulin pump program has been well received throughout Last Mountain-Touchwood. I’ve had many constituents reach out to me to express their delight with the program. This is another promise, Madam Deputy Speaker. Promise made, promise kept.

I’m also very excited about the investment of $1.4 million to add a new STARS helicopter. STARS is crucial to Saskatchewan, especially to our rural and remote areas. Thanks to STARS, emergency care is faster to rural areas. They save countless lives every day. I have so much respect and gratitude towards the STARS program.

I also want to commend our Minister of Finance for her foresight and courage. The charge on electric vehicles is very modest, but it’s visionary. Governments must look into the future and see the big picture. Our gas tax revenue is critical for highway repair and maintenance. If consumers decide to purchase electric vehicles, we still require a tax collection mechanism to pay for the necessary services. Our highways are critical infrastructure, and it is a priority of this government to maintain, improve, and build new stretches throughout this province. Saskatchewan people have always been willing to pay their fair share of taxes to provide funding for required infrastructure. This will allow all owners of electric vehicles to do just that.

This budget provides 830 million into operating, maintaining, and building the province’s roads and highways system. We are upgrading a section of highway in my constituency, Madam Deputy Speaker, Highways 322 and 220 from Glen Harbour to Rowan’s Ravine. This section of roadwork is needed and will be an asset to all the people living there and allow all Saskatchewan people to truly experience Rowan’s Ravine Provincial Park. All residents from the RM of McKillop look forward to the timely completion of this provincially funded project. We are also providing some upgrades to Highway 56 from Fort Qu’Appelle to Katepwa. Improved infrastructure is vital to communities, especially those that depend on tourism. These updates will allow for a greater appeal for tourist destinations near and throughout the constituency.

Madam Deputy Speaker, I’d like to touch briefly on the weather. I know this is shocking, Madam Deputy Speaker, to hear a farmer wanting to talk about the weather in this storied Chamber, but we all remember that frigid February. As I sat in my nice warm home and watched the news coming out of Texas, I felt horrible for them. The blackouts, hardship, and bone-chilling cold had disastrous effects on the state. The numbers still have to be accurately documented; however early media reports state that close to 70 people tragically passed away, and early estimates predict a $195 billion price tag on infrastructure repair. The images of people in their homes dealing with frozen and bursting water lines as the thaw began were truly saddening.

SaskPower, our publicly owned power Crown corporation, sent over 150 megawatts of electricity to Texas. While temperatures here were hovering at 40 below, SaskPower was able to keep Saskatchewan fully powered and help our neighbours. What a great Saskatchewan thing to do. But this is a sign, Madam Deputy Speaker, that we have to remain vigilant in our energy security. Our Crown corporation needs to experiment with different forms of electrical generation, but it is up to the government to maintain the big picture. It is absolutely critical that we maintain baseload power requirements for all citizens so that we never go through what Texas went through. This government is making a firm commitment through SaskPower of over $900 million to improve our electricity system to meet growing demand and maintain reliability with this budget.

I also want to talk about the Saskatchewan economic recovery rebate, which is budgeted at $174 million, which began providing all SaskPower customers with a 10 per cent rebate on their power bills. This is a simple, easy-to-administer program that sees real dollars going back into Saskatchewan people’s pockets. This was a campaign promise, Madam Deputy Speaker. A promise made, a promise kept.

When all of us farmers are finished with harvest you can find us in the rinks during the winter, watching our local hockey teams compete, eating perogies, and you can probably guess the next part. We’re talking about the weather. Rural Saskatchewan often consists of at least a school, grocery store, and a rink. When winter comes around, most people from a rural town can be found at the rink. By reinstating the community rink affordability grant and providing $2,500 per ice surface, community rinks can sigh a bit of a relief during the pandemic.

The community rink affordability grant was very popular in my constituency. I’m excited to announce that 13 towns and villages are receiving the funding in just my constituency alone. Those municipalities receiving the grant are Abernethy, Balcarres, Bulyea, Lipton, Ituna, Kelliher, Lemberg, Dysart, Earl Grey, Strasbourg, Cupar, Fenwood, and Neudorf. This grant has been highly successful, and I’m happy to see that rinks in Last Mountain-Touchwood have taken full advantage of this and are able to benefit from this grant.

Last year Saskatchewan agriculture produced almost $13 billion worth of exported product. Our farmers are the best in producing ethical, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable agri-food products. I’m a fourth-generation farmer, Madam Deputy Speaker, from the RM of Tullymet. I’m proud of that. Our government representatives must champion all the good that agriculture does for this province, for both urban and rural residents.

That’s why I’m excited to talk about the increase in funding for our international offices. We are increasing funding by $5 million to a total budget of 9.3 million. It is vitally important that as a government we assist all businesses in this province with marketing what they produce. We are a small province but world class in the quality, quantity, and sustainability of the agri-food products we grow here. This budget puts out the message to all producers that we will support you in marketing your products on the global stage.

Our government is committing to assisting, enhancing, and strengthening communities throughout the province. Municipal revenue sharing has increased by 118 per cent since 2007. COVID-19 has had a huge impact on our local economies. It is crucial to work together with our local municipalities to create a strong Saskatchewan. Municipalities are best situated to know what their communities need. This budget outlines more than 465 million of investments into municipalities. This includes grants, revenue sharing, and infrastructure funding. Together, Madam Deputy Speaker, along with the local municipalities, we will create a strong Saskatchewan.

This budget is the largest health care, education, and social services spending Saskatchewan has ever seen. These investments are going to pay dividends well into the future. Our net debt as a percentage of gross domestic product remains one of the lowest in Canada, and that is a critical measuring point. Being a small-business owner, Madam Deputy Speaker, I understand the ramifications of deficit spending, but this budget has the right balance of spending and targeted tax increases.

One critical aspect that this budget addresses is something myself and all of my colleagues on this side of the House share. Madam Deputy Speaker, that is the desire to see a Saskatchewan where all of our youth have opportunities to stay at home in this great province.

Madam Deputy Speaker, it was outlined in the budget address that we had 14 campaign commitments that we made to the people of Saskatchewan. Outlined in the budget, our government fulfilled all of 14 of those commitments. The members opposite seem to believe that our government has failed the people of this province. Seems pretty clear to me that we did not fail. We set out and did what we said we would do. The people voted with faith that our government would follow through on those commitments. And guess what, Madam Deputy Speaker? Promise made, promise kept.

To conclude, I am pleased to support the budget that has been brought forward by the Minister of Finance, seconded by the member from The Battlefords, but I do not support the amendment from the member from Regina Rosemont. Thank you.

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