Depressed commodity prices have not been kind to Saskatchewan鈥檚 finances. There鈥檚 very little silver lining to those dark clouds, as the provincial deficit continues to grow.聽Brad Wall was the harbinger of some ugly news at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association鈥檚 meeting, this past Monday, disclosing that the expected deficit for the province has once again grown, and now sits at $1.2 billion.聽
As the province鈥檚 population and its needs continue to grow every year, the amount of money Saskatchewan needs to spend to run efficiently and healthily grows proportionally. Nearly gone are the gentle speculations that were in the air the last time I wrote a column griping about the economy. Now, according to Wall, 鈥渆verything鈥� is under consideration.
In its rush to keep its campaign promise and balance its fiscal books this year, the Sask. Party is looking for places to cut. Hiring cutbacks and the possibility of raising taxes are still in the realm of possibility, but now, Premier Wall has spoken of service cuts and layoffs being considered for the chopping block.聽
Municipal revenue sharing is taking on water too, and is set to drop 5.1 per cent next year, with a continuing downward trend following in subsequent years.聽聽
One of the most galling of possibilities is the potential for the removal of 4,900 jobs in health care, alone. Picking apart the burdened health care system that Saskatchewan has going for it is an unequivocal mistake.聽 There鈥檚 a special irony that such an iniquitous decision is being considered in the birthplace of Canada鈥檚 beloved Medicare system.聽
And with that transformational change stuff going on, with it looking like all of Saskatchewan鈥檚 health regions are going to be reduced to a couple of giant ones for the sake of cutting back on administrative costs, there will be enough disruptions on the horizon as it is.聽
When the employees of a particular government service sector routinely, regularly gather at meetings鈥攍ike that of the Saskatchewan Medical Association鈥攖o discuss how overworked and spread-thin they are, the prospect of trying to cut jobs from that service is the equivalent of trying to put out a grease fire with a bucket of water. It can only get much worse.聽聽
Sadly, the opposition doesn鈥檛 have much to offer in response to Wall鈥檚 frightful austerity talk, either. The NDP has contented itself to gripe about how the Sask Party is dishonest, indulging in 鈥渢old ya so鈥檚鈥� relating to how Saskatchewan should have taken it easy on infrastructure over the last decade, and instead stuck a bunch of money into a rainy day fund. The Sask. Party has some tough decisions ahead, and never is there a more comfortable time to be an opposition member, critical of whatever uncomfortable results ensue.聽聽
From my short time here in Saskatchewan, I have observed that Wall is a man who is all about pragmatism. I also understand that he wants to be a man of his word, and keep his promises. Just look at what happens, on the federal scale, when you make something a major plank in your campaign鈥攃ough, cough, electoral reform鈥攐nly to backpedal, and completely abandon your promise after a listless attempt at gauging public interest, a couple of months into your second year as prime minister鈥orry; that鈥檚 apples and oranges.聽聽
I鈥檇 like to appeal to Wall鈥檚 pragmatism by insisting that there is no way stripping Saskatchewan鈥檚 health care system of jobs will ever create a financial recovery significant enough, or quick in coming enough to make up for the damage hamstringing the delivery of that essential service entails. Keep looking. 聽
Even the damage to your credibility of running a deficit is better than making fewer people do more work in an already strained health care system. The president of the Saskatchewan Construction Association is one of several voices suggesting the province move to five-year budgeting cycles, with a more long-term approach to balancing the books.聽That might be something to look into.
A responsibly managed deficit is not the best case scenario. The best case scenario would be this province鈥檚 resource revenues promptly spiking. But since that鈥檚 probably not going to happen soon, there are some painful decisions that remain. I don鈥檛 Envy Wall.
