As the Saskatchewan Construction Association warned would happen over a year ago, the addition of PST to construction contracts is drastically impacting Saskatchewan’s construction industry. Today, Statistics Canada released the latest value of building permits report from August and it shows the average building permit in Saskatchewan has dropped by 32.9 per cent since August 2017.
“Removing the PST exemption has hit Saskatchewan’s construction industry hard,” said NDP Housing Critic Nicole Rancourt. “We’re already losing people to other provinces due to a lack of job opportunities and lower wages, and that policy choice only made the situation worse.”
The value of residential building permits dropped by 29.5 per cent from August 2017 to August 2018. In that same time frame, non-residential permits dropped by a staggering 35.7 per cent. Unlike Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Manitoba saw an increase in their building permits’ value. Overall, B.C. increased by 42.7 per cent and Manitoba went up by 39.5 per cent.
“The Sask. Party has continually chipped away at Saskatchewan’s economic prosperity to the point where we’re struggling to compete with other provinces,” said Rancourt. “Saskatchewan people need a job-creating government that values the industries that make this province a better place to live, including the construction industry.”
Poor working conditions, favouritism, $300K travel nurse pay at issue
REGINA - Today, the Official Opposition released a letter signed by 49 emergency room nurses in Saskatoon. The letter slams the Sask. Party government for failing to support Saskatchewan nurses and curb the province’s reliance on expensive out-of-province travel nurses.
REGINA - Today, Official Opposition Critic for First Nations and Métis Relations Betty Nippi-Albright hosted a Day of Action with Indigenous leaders from Nekaneet First Nation, Yellow Quill First Nation, Waterhen Lake First Nation, Onion Lake Cree Nation, Carry The Kettle First Nation, Key First Nation and the residential school support team from Yorkton Tribal Council. Together, they continue to draw attention to the Sask. Party government’s disregard for the Duty to Consult process.
MOOSE JAW - Today, the Official Opposition stood with Taylor Enns, president of the Moose Jaw Firefighters Association, and Brayden Dutchak, the son of a cancer survivor. Together, they called on the Sask. Party government to reopen Saskatchewan’s only hyperbaric chamber.
Records show former Sask. Party Finance Minister lobbied for Calgary surgery scheme on behalf of a major Sask. Party donor
REGINA - Today, the Official Opposition grilled the Premier and his Minister of Health after the Minister misled the public, claiming that he had not been lobbied by a former Sask. Party MLA when Saskatchewan's official lobbyist logs show the exact opposite.