What to Expect
Saskatchewan
With summer in full swing, political news will continue to play second fiddle to other news events. Last week, in a joint statement with Alberta, Saskatchewan pushed back against limits on fertilizer use being proposed by the federal government to curtail greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture industry. It is emblematic of the kind of political activity we’ll see over the next few weeks – reactive to outside events, but with little tangible activity.
Manitoba
The Manitoba government will likely continue to trickle out announcements, like the $100 million announcement for a new Arts, Culture, and Sports in the Community Fund (see Week That Was for details).
The Week That Was
Saskatchewan
To assist with rising fuel and insurance costs, the Government of Saskatchewan is providing a one-time investment of $20 million in funding to school divisions for the 2022-23 school year. With this additional investment, school operating funding exceeds $2 billion for the first time in the province’s history.
On July 21, 2022, the provincial government brought the Taxpayers’ Fairness (CPR) Act into force. It was passed in the spring session of the Legislature with unanimous support. The goal of the Act is to bring Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in line with other companies when it comes to provincial tax rules.
Manitoba
The Manitoba government is investing more than $5.2 million in two programs that aim to address the staffing shortages in the province’s health care sector as well as increase the representation of Indigenous people in the field.
On June 25, 2022, Premier Heather Stefanson announced the commitment of $100 million over three years to create the new Arts, Culture and Sport in Community (ACSC) Fund. As part of Budget 2022, the ACSC Fund will provide grants to three programs, including capital projects, community celebrations, and small capital and special initiatives. Applications for this year’s intake will open August 16.
