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. B. McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. It is indeed an honour to be able to stand today and speak to the issue of affordability, something that, as a farmer myself and speaking on behalf of farmers across the province, affordability is a huge challenge in the industry that we’re involved with. I know a great deal about not having enough and not knowing where the next bill is going to be paid and digging deep and finding the resources to really be there for the next season. One thing I’ve learned in my time in farming is you don’t farm for one year. One year is not going to get you where you need to be. It’s a lifetime occupation, and it’s one that I’m proud to be involved in.

I also want to talk a little bit about just a recent event, the Real Estate Association of Saskatchewan and the reception that they had in this . . . just down the hallway here a little ways. And they talked about the fact of Saskatchewan having one of the lowest housing costs in Canada. Amazing, actually. And thanks to so many people involved with making that happen — construction workers, all levels of government in terms of permitting — recent stats of how . . . building permits through the roof. That’s awesome. Those are great, great things.

And just a bit of a personal comment here in regards to the fact that there are a lot of people involved in selling real estate as well, not the least of which is my own mother-in-law. And I think, and I’m going to research this topic just a little bit more, but I believe she may be if not the oldest but very close to the oldest active real estate agent in our province at 90 years of age. Ninety years of age. And I think she’d be okay with me saying her age. She’s a very spry 90-year-old. And, Mr. Deputy Speaker, yes, she’s very active, and yes, she does hit the tax rolls on account of what she’s doing in selling real estate. Impressive. Impressive.

So when we talk affordability, it’s always important to compare apples to apples. You can never take one stat in isolation, and I know the member from Riversdale also talked about this. It’s easy to cherry-pick single elements that tell your story, but what’s needed is a very holistic look at the entire picture. Comparisons are very helpful, and so we’ll attempt to provide a balanced look at affordability in Saskatchewan.

Now our official opposition, Mr. Deputy Speaker, likes to use Manitoba as an example. So let’s explore that a little deeper, using stats derived from the same source — that would be Stats Canada.

Saskatchewan has a population of 1,225,493 at January 1st, 2024. That is a lot of people that have moved to this province in a very short period of time. Rapid growth. That’s an increase of 30,624 year over year, or 2.6 per cent.

Similar growth in Manitoba, who has a larger population base to start with, a population of 1.465 million, and over a one-year time period shows a growth of 2.94 per cent, a growth of 41,844. So we’re similar in size. Similar in size, slightly larger in Manitoba. So let’s look at some of the comparisons in terms of affordability.

In Manitoba a family of four pays provincial income tax on the first . . . when they get to $38,050. That’s the seventh lowest taxfree threshold in Canada. Seventh lowest. In Saskatchewan, 59,475. That’s $21,425 more than Manitoba, and the highest — let me say this again — the highest tax-free threshold in Canada.

An Hon. Member: — Indexed every year.

Mr. B. McLeod: — Next point on my list. Indexed every year. Thank you for the member from Cannington. He’s here to help, and that’s awesome.

So a family of four pays $2,078 more provincial income tax than Saskatchewan. Now just recently a provincial budget passed in Manitoba as well as here. $71 million dollars in education property tax increase in Manitoba. How much was the property tax increase here? Nothing. Nothing. Zero.

Fitness tax credit, $54 per child in Manitoba; 150 here, introduced by our government as a cost-saving affordability. No children’s drug plan in Manitoba. We have a drug plan in Saskatchewan introduced by the Sask Party. No first-time homeowner, homebuyer tax credit in Manitoba; $1,050 first-time homebuyer tax credit here in Saskatchewan.

What’s the PST number in Manitoba? Seven per cent. Six per cent here. What about utilities? Seven per cent on utilities. Can you imagine 7 per cent PST on utilities? And in Saskatchewan, no carbon tax on home heating, saving $400 per family. No carbon tax. Payroll tax in Manitoba, 2.15; no payroll tax here. And Manitoba has a capital investment dollar figure of 9.06 billion in 2024. What’s the number here? 19.57 billion.

So we talk about a net debt-to-GDP ratio, and that’s a really important, important conversation because it gives you the sense of how much the cost is to run your government if you’re running into debt all the time. In Manitoba, 38.5 per cent — among the highest in the country. Net debt-to-GDP ratio in Saskatchewan, 14 per cent.

I’m going to talk a little more about that. It’s the second lowest in the country, second only to Alberta, and as the member from . . . what’s your . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . Moosomin, I always forget Moosomin. It’s still too high, we need to get it lower.

And on top of all that, Manitoba receives $4 billion in equalization payments, and yet members opposite think that we should do like Manitoba and take the gas tax off. So a six-month gas tax would cost us $253 million, more than half of the capital budget for highways. So we’re supposed to go back to filling our own potholes, I guess is the answer. And make community — what was that? Community growth . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . Bonding. Bonding community building exercise. I don’t think so, Mr. Speaker.

So let’s talk about the net debt as a percentage of GDP because I’ve got to watch the time here as well. So I already said Saskatchewan, 14 per cent; Manitoba at 38.5; Ontario at 39.2 per cent. What does that actually mean? So for Saskatchewan, when you talk about that, it leaves us with a source of revenue that needs to go to pay debt. And in Saskatchewan 4.2 per cent of our revenue, so 95.8 cents of every dollar is what we get to spend. The other goes to debt repayment. Ontario, 93.3 cents is what they get to spend. And in Manitoba 10 cents of every dollar goes to pay on their interest costs.

And we’ve paid down 2.5 billion in operation debt. That’s saving us $97.5 million annually, allowing us to invest in projects, programs, and capital projects. And what kind of things? Already mentioned by my partner here, Saskatchewan employment incentive, a wonderful opportunity to be able to say affordability is important in Saskatchewan. Mr. Speaker . . .