Vol. 103 No. 21
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012
Biggar, Saskatchewan
www.biggarindependent.ca
20 pages
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1.25 tax included
Canada’s only balanced provincial budget highlights Spring Session The spring session of the Legislative Assembly wrapped up Thursday with Premier Brad Wall saying the highlight was the introduction and passage of Canada’s only balanced provincial budget. “While other provinces and other countries are struggling with huge deficits and growing debt, Saskatchewan is a different story,” Wall said. “Our budget is balanced, our finances are sound and we are on the right track.” Wall said a balanced budget is a key part of the “Saskatchewan Advantage” that has our province’s economy leading the nation. “Saskatchewan employers have created more than 13,000 new jobs in the past year,” Wall said. “Our population is growing at its fastest pace in 60 years and many forecasters say we will have the strongest economic growth in Canada this year and next.” Wall said the strong economy enabled the government to keep virtually all of its 2011 election promises while still maintaining a balanced budget. These include: • Introducing a new “Saskatchewan Advantage Scholarship” that will
provide up to $2,000 over four years to new high school graduates to reduce the cost of postsecondary education in Saskatchewan; • Expanding the Active Families Benefit and the PST exemption on clothing to include all children under 18; • 500 new child care spaces; • A new $10,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers; • Launching the STARS emergency medical helicopter service; • Forgiving up to $120,000 in student loans for new doctors and up to $20,000 for new nurses and nurse practitioners who practice in rural and remote communities; • Increasing benefits under the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) program by $2,760 per year for couples and $2,400 per year for individuals; • Increasing the Seniors Income Plan (SIP) benefit by $600 per year; and • Providing the first year of the government’s four-year commitment of $2.2 billion to repair and maintain Saskatchewan highways. “Last election, we campaigned on a
Four Gen Celebration . . . Tiny Tot Grad, Kaylee Poitras is surrounded by well-wishing mom Erin, right, grandmother, Joyce Sherbino, left, and greatgrandmother Joy Sherbino, Thursday as the nursery school celebrated their annual graduation. The landmark occasion for the wee students is the first of many, many platform of sustainable spending, balanced budgets and a number of targeted promises to help
keep life affordable for Saskatchewan people,” Wall said. “In this session, we did what we said we
more benchmark occasions, and who better to share it all with as Mother’s Day was a scant few days previous. Log on to the biggarindependent.ca this Wednesday for more content in our Galleries section! (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
would do. “We kept our promises, we kept the budget balanced, we kept the Saskatchewan
Advantage and we kept Saskatchewan moving forward.”
Session ends, NDP say their mission continues Saskatchewan’s people expected better from the Sask Party government, and they deserve better than what they got in the spring session of the Legislative Assembly, said NDP leader John Nilson Nilson closed the spring session Thursday by
Drag race . . . No traction-control, no Formula 1 inspired launch-control, just pure manual power as kids from schools in the district train for the track season. Here, Shawn Howard, right, Nicholas Garchinski and Ashley Heather put power down for the sprint to the finish, Wednesday at the Rec Complex, preparing for their first meet in Rosetown the following day. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
speaking out against, what he calls, the surprise attacks the Sask Party foisted on Saskatchewan people. “The Sask Party has made the choice to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on three more politicians. They killed jobs and devastated a critical segment of the economy and our culture with their ideological attack on the film industry. They betrayed immigrants planning to move their families to Saskatchewan. They turned their war on labour into a war with every person who works for a living,” Nilson proclaimed. “None of this was discussed with the people of Saskatchewan during the election campaign. The lack of consultation and lack of respect for everyday families leaves us all wondering; what’s coming next?” Nilson noted that the brightest spot of the 11week session was the broad public engagement. Phone calls and e-mails rolled in
to the NDP caucus office while hundreds of people of all political stripes gathered at the legislature and filled the public galleries. “As New Democrats, we were pleased to see so many people participating in democracy,” said Nilson. “It was a great disappointment that the premier refused to leave his office and meet those hundreds of people on our own doorstep here at the legislature, time and again. But, democracy works best when people aren’t afraid to speak up.” Nilson said that the
critical issues of the session – including the addition of MLAs, the cuts to the film industry, underfunding education and the NDP’s pursuit of better security for latenight workers through Jimmy’s Law – will not be abandoned by the NDP. “The session may be over; but it’s clear that the NDP’s mission to support smart growth, common sense and respect for the needs of everyday Saskatchewan people is more critical than ever,” concluded Nilson.
Seeding ahead of yearly average Twenty-two per cent of the 2012 crop has been seeded, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Weekly Crop Report, for the period May 8 to 14. The five-year (2007-2011) average for this time of year is approximately 18 per cent seeded. Significant seeding progress was made during the past week. Fourteen per cent of the crop is seeded in the southeast, 42 per cent in the southwest, 12 per cent in the east-central area, 17 per cent in the west-central area, 21 per cent in the northeast and 28 per cent in the northwest. Provincially, 58 per cent of the field peas have been seeded, 40 per cent of the lentils, 25 per cent of the durum, 23 per cent of the spring wheat, 18 per cent of the canola, 18 per cent of the chickpeas and two per cent of the flax.