Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce:
The Acting CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce says one of the biggest efforts the organization has been advocating for with the federal government is the return of the carbon tax proceeds to small and medium-sized businesses through the Climate Action Incentive Fund. In response to the federal budget, Elissa Laliberte says the federal budget again recognized its obligation to return the carbon tax, but the Saskatchewan Chamber is disappointed the request for funding eligibility to go beyond support for the emission-intensive trade-exposed small and medium-sized enterprises wasn’t fulfilled. Laliberte says the Chamber would like to see broader support, with more streams and more businesses having an opportunity to get involved.
As well, Saskatchewan Chamber members are pleased that the budget dedicates some federal resources to exploring small modular reactors. Laliberte says the Chamber has been critical in the past of the federal government’s decision to exclude nuclear power in the Green Bond Framework.
Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association:
The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association says the federal budget helps communities to tackle homelessness, but it is disappointed with the lack of response to address mental health and addictions. SUMA President Randy Goulden applauds the extension of the Rapid Housing Initiative for affordable housing projects, and he believes the Housing Accelerator Fund has the potential to help hometowns get new housing built quicker.
However, Goulden suggests the federal government needed a more proactive focus on mental health and addictions. He says there are references of a new Canada Mental Health Transfer to support the expansion and delivery of accessible mental health services, but few details are available.
SUMA’s President also points to the federally negotiated RCMP labour agreement. Goulden explains that the budget doesn’t address the impact on communities. Municipal associations from western Canada called on the government to cover the costs of the negotiated retroactive pay increases from wage compensation for 2017 to 2021, but that wasn’t included in the budget. Goulden says the increased costs significantly impact hometown budget, and because they can’t run deficit budgets, it means the increased costs in policing needs to be funded through increased taxes of reducing municipal services in other area.
