Economy

Saskatchewan is fortunate that in a time of economic uncertainty our economy has remained strong. With an abundance of natural resources, a strong mixed economy and innovative academic and business sectors, we are well positioned for continued prosperity and the benefits that come from a diversified economy.

However, we cannot become complacent. Our greatest strength—our abundance of natural resources—also has the potential to be our greatest weakness. Saskatchewan has traditionally been dependent on agricultural production and resource extraction, in particular non-renewable resources. This has resulted in us being at the mercy of erratic international markets, stuck in a boom-bust cycle dictated by commodity prices in Toronto or New York. We need the foresight to invest in good economic times in a diversity of industries that will be more boom/bust resistant.

* We can develop a flexible and adaptive knowledge-based economy through investments in accessible, high quality education, as well as in research and development.

* We can build an environmentally and economically sustainable energy industry based on wind, solar and other renewable energies that provides stable power, income and jobs.

* We export nearly everything we produce and import nearly everything we consume. If we close the loop by investing in value-added development of our resource-based industries, ensuring that more of our agricultural, forestry and mined resources are further processed here in Saskatchewan, we can leverage our natural wealth into jobs and development of local economies.

* By introducing fair, floating royalty rates that rise and fall with fluctuating commodity prices, we can ensure that the people of Saskatchewan receive the full value of their resources without denying companies a fair and stable return on their investments. This royalty wealth should be invested into green energy, retrofits, public transportation, housing and education. In this way, the Saskatchewan government would be living up to its responsibility to ensure that we use our non-renewable wealth to create a sustainable economy and healthy environment for future generations.

Prudent fiscal policy is essential to maintain a stable tax regime and government program spending. Whether it be the use of a stabilization fund or the responsible use of debt, the fiscal capacity must be available to allow the government to intervene quickly to lessen the impact of fluctuating resource revenue. The NDP has a history of excellent fiscal responsibility in government. It is concerning to watch the Sask Party cut taxes, increase spending and dip significantly into the stabilization fund. I’m concerned that the current government is taking great financial risks without investing in our real financial needs.

A fair, transparent and progressive system of taxation is required to promote economic activity and fund public services. The government must work to maintain an equitable system of taxation that encourages entrepreneurship and hard work while maintaining adequate funding for the services and safety net the people of Saskatchewan take pride in.

We must remember that a strong economy is necessary for maintaining a good standard of living. We must also remember, however, that the economy is a tool for the good of the people. It is not an end in itself but a means to improve the lives of the people of Saskatchewan. When developing economic policy we must look beyond “Gross Domestic Product” as the sole measure of community well-being and prosperity.

As social democrats we believe that the government has a role to play in managing the economy. There are different tools at different times—private sector and public sector tools, incentives and regulations, and changes in taxation that can be used to stimulate and direct the economy for the good of all people. The common thread must be that the economic decisions made by government are seen through the lens of what is best for all the people of Saskatchewan, and in particular of those most disadvantaged in our province.

Poverty is a drag on our economy. When people live in poverty they are unable to participate fully in public life and the marketplace, and are unable to contribute to our tax base. They also are more likely to require health services, fall into the prison system, or require social assistance. For the good of all the people of Saskatchewan—wealthy, middle class and poor—we need to work to eliminate extreme poverty in our communities.

Investments in physical infrastructure, in roads and other supports for businesses must be accompanied by investments in human infrastructure—in health, education, child care, housing and nutrition. When we have a healthy, educated populace, able to participate fully in the economy, we all share the benefits. When we allow people to fall through the cracks we all share the costs.

* Quality childcare and early childhood education is an investment in our intellectual infrastructure.
* Community Schools allow every child to aspire to a successful and even prosperous adulthood.
* Community health initiatives and quality housing programs improve the health and safety of our most vulnerable children.
* Indexing the minimum wage to the Low Income Cut-Off allows all workers to support themselves and their families.

Social assistance needs to be a safety net for those who need it. Unfortunately, too many people become trapped within the system due to a series of perverse incentives that punish them for trying to return to full employment. For example, in most cases, the amount a social assistance recipient is allowed to earn before having their earnings clawed back is less than the basic expenses involved in getting and keeping a job.

The previous government began to address these counter-productive policies through the Building Independence initiative in the late 1990s. Rather than punishing those who would work by clawing back money they had earned, Building Independence provided an income supplement and extended health benefits to families with children, helping them to enter the workforce. The program successful, with thousands of families and tens of thousands of children able to escape from dependence on the welfare system through their own hard work and initiative.

Building Independence was a good start, but it left childless couples and single people trapped in the same double bind that virtually any money they earned was simply clawed back. Some of those families that did escape from social assistance remain trapped in dead-end jobs that leave them scarcely better off.

We can take what was good about Building Independence and expand it. We need to end all claw-backs and to increase funding, ensuring that entry into the workforce is successful.

Targeted social investment is essential to our long term prosperity. It has been estimated that every dollar invested in early childhood programs, for example, saves seven down the road through reduced policing and corrections costs, health expenditures and social services costs. The children who benefit from these investments will become adults who contribute to our prosperity rather than detract from it. By helping others, we help ourselves.

Without economic progress, social progress is impossible. By the same token, economic progress that erodes the social base on which our prosperity depends cannot be sustained for long. Social progress is economic progress. When we work together to build a health society, we are also working to build an economy that will sustain and enrich that healthy society.