The provincial government is budgeting for $160-million in new health and public safety funding from its $200-million contingency fund and issuing of special warrants in February totaling $322.8-million.
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer says the largest segment of the contingency allocations is $75.6- million going to the Saskatchewan Health Authority for pandemic costs, followed by $20-million for the Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment Program and $17-million for tourism supports.
The first $40-million of the fund was allocated for the Safe School Plan in the first quarter of this fiscal year.
There were six ministries that needed special warrants for the $322.8-million in total.
At the top of the list was the Health ministry with $179.5-million for service pressures in the SHA for various costs associated to the response to COVID-19 and settled collective bargaining.
The new contingency allocations totaling $160 million, consist of:
$75.6 million for Saskatchewan Health Authority COVID pressures
$20 million for the Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment Program
$17 million for Tourism supports
$14.2 million for Municipal Grants for Growth
$12.3 million for Public Safety response
$9.9 million for Custody Services
$5.5 million for the Chief Electoral Officer
$3.2 million for Court Service enhancements
$1.8 million for SaskPoly Dental Lab renovations
$500,000 for Conexus Arts Centre support
Six ministries required special warrants, including:
$179.5 million for Health
$75.0 million for service pressures in the Saskatchewan Health Authority
$52.9 million for various costs across the health system including the response to COVID-19 and settled collective bargaining
$50.3 million for equipment purchases for the response to COVID-19
$1.3 million for asset development costs for the new physician claims management system
$96.6 million for Highways
$57.0 million due to a good season with more contractors completing more work than a typical season
$23.0 million in pressures for winter maintenance
$14.2 million for municipal grants to stimulate economic growth and allow contractors to prepare for the upcoming season
$2.4 million to provide federal funding to Transwest Air for scheduled air services to five communities in northern Saskatchewan under the federal-provincial contribution agreement with Transport Canada
$35.4 million for Corrections, Policing and Public Safety
$15.7 million for Custody Services primarily due to operational pressures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as salary costs related to overtime
$13.8 million for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, primarily due to COVID-19 response measures
$5.9 million for the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program for increased disaster claim payments
$5.1 million for Justice and Attorney General
$3.174 million for Courts Services due to additional operational requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic
$1.156 million for Boards, Commissions and Independent Offices for utilization pressures in the Saskatchewan Coroners Service, the Human Rights Commission and the Office of Residential Tenancies
$770,000 for Innovation and Legal Services due to higher usage of the ISC Corporate Registry and to cover falloff in revenue to the Queen’s Printer Revolving Fund due to the pandemic
$4.4 million for Agriculture for the AgriInvest Program based on the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada winter forecast
$1.8 million for Advanced Education for Saskatchewan Polytechnic to upgrade its dental lab facility to ensure compliance with COVID-19 Protocols
Special warrant amounts will be included in the Supplementary Estimates No. 2, which will be tabled on Budget Day, April 6, 2021.
