The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce Responds to 2022-23 ­­­­­­Provincial Budget

Regina, SK – The Government of Saskatchewan’s 2022-23 Budget, which was released today, contains several important items for Saskatchewan businesses. This year’s budget, themed ‘Back on Track,’ focused on economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and public investment in both human resources, capital, and health care.
 
“The last couple of years have been a struggle. The Saskatchewan Chamber is happy that Saskatchewan is looking to get back on track and believes the 2022-23 Budget is a reasonable step in this direction,” said Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce Acting CEO Elissa LaLiberte.
 
The membership of the Saskatchewan Chamber is particularly pleased that the 2022-23 Budget continues to significantly invest in the province’s capital infrastructure.
 
“Saskatchewan’s 2021-22 capital budget had a significant impact – sustaining pieces of our economy as businesses struggled with the pandemic,” said LaLiberte. “The Saskatchewan Chamber was supportive of the community benefit criteria that prioritized the use of Saskatchewan labour and was crucial in keeping these investment dollars in Saskatchewan companies. We hope that the government’s decision to remove the community benefits criteria does not minimize the spinoff impact of these new dollars locally. Nevertheless, we are pleased the Government of Saskatchewan is making these investments.”  
 
The Saskatchewan Chamber appreciates the challenging fiscal position of the provincial government, but the organization is concerned about the cumulative impact of the Province’s small tax increases on businesses that are already struggling to recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic.
 
“A little increase in education property tax, the return of the small business tax rate, and a bit more PST starts to add up,” continued LaLiberte. “The membership of the Saskatchewan Chamber recognizes that Saskatchewan needs to get back to a balanced budget and appreciates that the Province has avoided large scale tax increases, but we caution that the Province needs to monitor the marginal effective tax rate as an uncompetitive position that will weaken our recovery over the long term.”
 
The Saskatchewan Chamber was also pleased to see an investment to complete the Wollaston Lake Road in Northern Saskatchewan. Since the creation of the Saskatchewan Chamber’s 2014 Northern Business Task Force, the organization had been recommending an all-weather road from Highway 905 to Wollaston Lake to serve as a permanent linkage to numerous communities while enhancing safety and supporting the local economy.
 
The Saskatchewan Chamber believes the provincial government’s plan for a return to a balanced budget is reasonable and applauds the Province for using conservative estimates for resource revenue projections to avoid disappointments and disruptions in the future. 
 

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The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce is the Voice of Saskatchewan Business and represents the interests of over 10,000 individual businesses, industry associations, and local chambers across the province through its chamber network. For more information on Chamber activities and advocacy efforts, visit saskchamber.com or @SaskChamber on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
 
Contact:

Elissa LaLiberte
Acting CEO
Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce
306-781-3128
elaliberte@saskchamber.com
 
Laurèn Neumann
Director of Marketing & Communications
Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce
306-781-3126
lneumann@saskchamber.com