75-Minute Debate (11 April 2024)

From Hansard (11 April 2024)

 

Cost of Living and Affordability Measures

The Assembly was debating the following motion moved by Aleana Young (NDP - Regina University):

That the Assembly calls upon the government to urgently act to provide relief to families struggling with the high cost of living.

Mr. Jenson: — Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to provide some insight into the opposition’s motion regarding affordability in our province. Mr. Deputy Speaker, affordability challenges are not something that is unique to this province. Inflation is also affecting our entire country and many jurisdictions around the world. It doesn’t matter if it’s groceries, other retail goods or services or farm inputs or business supplies — the cost of everything has gone up. The question is why. It’s no secret that the ever-increasing carbon tax is to blame.

The NDP-supported Liberal carbon tax, there’s not one single tangible good in our economy that isn’t subject to the carbon tax, either directly or indirectly. This is what has driven up the price of everything. Each and every domestically produced or imported consumer good that moves through a supply chain is touched by the carbon tax. From the time that product is grown or manufactured to the warehouse stage and all the way through the retail system until the final point of purchase, that item is subject to the carbon tax cost adjustments multiple times.

But while we’re feeling the effects of nationwide inflation, our government in past budgets and again in this year’s budget, provides over $2 billion in affordability measures for the residents of our province, to which my colleagues from Saskatoon Riversdale and Lumsden-Morse have already detailed in great length.

Our government’s removal of the carbon tax from natural gas and electrical home heating has resulted in our inflation rate dropping from 2.7 per cent to 1.9 per cent in February. Now remove the carbon tax from everything in our country — fuel, electricity, transportation, agricultural production, manufacturing — and there’s not a doubt in anyone’s mind that the cost of living for everyone will greatly improve with just that one single measure.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, it’s interesting that the opposition uses the word “urgently” in their motion, that the government urgently act to provide relief from the high cost of living. Well, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I just outlined the fastest and most efficient way to reduce inflation and restore affordability and the purchasing power of not only our friends and neighbours here in Saskatchewan, but also for everyone right across this great country.

The Opposition Leader apparently tried calling her federal boss, Jagmeet Singh, but all it seems she could do was leave a message. So if the phone call didn’t work, and the carbon tax is the primary driver of inflation and affordability challenges, why doesn’t the Opposition Leader head down Regina Avenue, catch a flight to Ottawa and personally meet with and tell Jagmeet to stop supporting Trudeau and get rid of the carbon tax?

It’s an urgent matter, Mr. Deputy Speaker. So if she won’t commit to doing that, then it speaks volumes about her party’s actual support of Jagmeet Singh and Justin Trudeau. They’re all hat and no cattle, Mr. Deputy Speaker. They talk a big game over there, but when the chips are down, the Trudeau-Singh coalition are the ones calling the shots for those members over there. They’re the same old NDP. They talk down our economy and they have a terrible disdain for our oil and gas and mining industries. And in their world, no one should invest in the economy unless it’s their idea and it’s taxpayers’ money.

History shows that, Mr. Deputy Speaker. That opposition party stops at nothing to keep private investors out of our province and blow hundreds of millions of dollars of our taxpayers’ dollars on bad investments and even worse investments. It’s in their DNA as a party, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

When the NDP governed, think back to all the dot-coms they invested in and lost everything. There was tappedinto. And then there was the $15 million loss on Persona. And who could forget the $43 million lost on Navigata? How about another 10 million on Craig Wireless or the network services of Chicago deal where they lost another $16 million? And if that wasn’t enough failure, they came back for more — 35 million more lost in the potato industry at SPUDCO [Saskatchewan Potato Utility Development Company].

But the investment party continued with investments in Guyana and the infamous Channel Lake losses. The NDP even went for the blackout and failed at that by losing taxpayers’ money on the mega bingo project. Between losing hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars on these and other failed investments, coupled with the previous nationalizations of potash and oil, it’s no wonder that anyone with private capital to invest steered clear of this province when the NDP were in power.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, the opposition has started quoting our former premier Brad Wall, using the phrase, “The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour.” And Mr. Wall couldn’t have been more right when it comes to the NDP. Nothing has changed over there. They’re all over the map. It’s a complete mess just like it was in the years that they were in government. There may be new faces, but it’s the same failed logic and ideology.

They want the gas tax cut just like they’ve done in Manitoba. We’ve heard all about it. Apparently to this opposition, we should be copying NDP Manitoba. Not a chance. Not a chance, Mr. Deputy Speaker. In their budget release just over a week ago, Manitoba’s debt-to-GDP ratio will climb to thirty-eight and a half per cent. Here in Saskatchewan we remain one of the best in the country, one of the lowest at 13.3.

It’s interesting to note the billion-dollar increase in equalization money from the federal government to Manitoba, but that province is still projecting a deficit of almost $800 million, all the while, while cutting capital roads budgets by 8 per cent, cancelling nine school projects, and axing 660 daycare spaces, on top of cutting funding to police, courts, crime prevention, and victim services.

If these types of cuts sound familiar, Mr. Deputy Speaker, they are, because we lived through the NDP cuts when they were in power here. 176 schools were closed. Highway construction and maintenance were essentially non-existent. Everybody remembers the orange markers every hundred yards or so on every highway. And the NDP were telling people of this province to go fix your own roads; it’ll be a worthwhile community project.

And then there was the decline in population which one NDP member said at the time was great. It’s great that we’re having people leave because with fewer people it leaves more for the rest of us.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, our collection of annual affordability measures is substantial. Whether it’s reducing personal income tax and taking 112,000 residents off the tax rolls, or providing the second-lowest cost utility bundle in the country, our province is leading the way in affordability.

And there’s others outside this province who are in agreement on affordability. Angela Serednicki of Zoocasa wrote on March 11, and I quote:

And when we talk about affordability, Regina truly shines. It’s housing market offers some of the most budget-friendly options nationwide, with prices a staggering 57 per cent below the national benchmark.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, my time is running short here, so I think it’s . . . Just like my height. I think it’s really important to emphasize this. When you add up the $2 billion of affordability measures that we have in this province, whether that was through the SGI rebates of $385 per vehicle; or the $500 affordability cheques that were sent out; or the active families benefit of $150 per child or 200 for a child who is disabled; or the graduate retention program tax credit, which that opposition is opposed to; or the first-time homebuyers tax credit; or the Saskatchewan employment incentive; or the seniors’ drug plan; or the children’s drug plan; or the seniors’ income plan that has quadrupled since 2007.

The list is so long; I wish I could list them all. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, when you add up all this, all these affordability measures can only be paid for through the strength of a growing and vibrant economy, an economy that is projected to continue to be one of the strongest economies, if not the strongest, in the nation. That is something that cannot be discounted. It is very real, and it’s vital that it’s protected, nurtured, and promoted.

There’s one thing that Saskatchewan residents cannot afford, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and that’s the NDP. We know what their ideology is. We know they’ll attack our economy. They’ll crash our economy by chasing job creators and businesses out of the province, like they did before. They’ll put up barriers to outside investment and they’ll raise taxes, all the while shrugging their shoulders and wondering why is everyone leaving.

We in Saskatchewan can’t afford that, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Our strong economy is what supports all of this province’s targeted . . .

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