The damaging effects of the Sask. Party’s tax hike to construction labour is still apparent as the value of residential and non-residential building permits saw another drop.
“The construction industry was already facing challenges that were slowing it down, and instead of helping it get up to speed, the government completely slammed on the brakes,” said NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon. “It’s clear their PST hike needs to be scrapped immediately.”
According to the latest report from Statistics Canada, the value of residential building permits dropped over 25 per cent between May 2018 and May 2019 — one of the sharpest declines in the country. The value of non-residential building permits also dropped year over year.
“The impact of that tax hike is still hurting workers and businesses and it’s driving them to find work and projects in other provinces – this is a loss for everyone,” Wotherspoon said. “Every month we’re seeing significant job loss in the construction industry – 5,000 jobs were lost between June 2018 and June 2019 alone.”