REGINA - The opposition New Democrats were quick to slam the Sask Party government for failing to address cost of living challenges, after the government released their first-quarter budget forecast Thursday.
At the legislature Thursday, Opposition Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon accused the government of having “squandered windfall revenues.”
This was in response to the earlier announcement in Saskatoon by Finance Minister Donna Harpauer that the surplus was now $485.5 million at first quarter, down from over $1 billion that had been projected at budget time in the spring.
Wotherspoon once again hammered the government on the issue of affordability. He accused the government of having “continued to withhold needed cost of living relief, all while they pile on more costs and taxes on the backs of Saskatchewan people, despite being in a fiscal position to be able to provide some support.”
He called the failure to provide relief “inexcusable.”
“While sitting on windfall revenues, they’ve hiked taxes, fees and power bills three times in the last year.” He also pointed to 5,200 jobs lost since the year began.
Wotherspoon characterized the first quarter update as a “contrived report” and of the government “trying to paint a rosy picture instead of accept the reality of their record.”
He accused Harpauer of “spinning reality, denying Saskatchewan people of the reality they know as it relates to the hardship they face, with the cost of living and the added costs this government has imposed upon them.”
At his media availability, Wotherspoon was asked about the cabinet shuffle announced this week and the fact that Harpauer had stayed put in her role as Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier. He made it known it signalled a government "doubling down" on its policies.
“What we saw through the cabinet shuffle, and what we see here today, is a government ignoring the reality that families face with the cost of living and we see them doubling down in not offering a stitch of relief, but instead trying to defend the new costs and hikes and taxes they imposed on Saskatchewan people,” said Wotherspoon. “That’s wrong.”
