NDP call for PST on construction labour to be scrapped

The NDP is calling on the Sask. Party to scrap the PST on construction labour in the upcoming budget.

“The Sask. Party has stubbornly stuck to this damaging tax hike, meanwhile construction companies throughout the province are hurting from real consequences,” said NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon. “With so many jobs and contracts lost, the right move for the province’s economy would be to scrap this tax hike in the upcoming budget.”

The call comes in light of Stats Canada reporting that Saskatchewan saw a 1.5 per cent year-over-year drop in average weekly earnings. Saskatchewan was the only province in Canada to see a drop, which was attributed to declines in the construction industry.

Stats Canada is also reporting that construction wages went from $1,360.19 in December 2017 to $1,233.08 in 2018 – a decrease of nine per cent.

Home builders in the province are in the midst of a downturn and have said that the Sask. Party’s sales tax on construction contracts has contributed to their struggles.

“The bottom line is that the Sask. Party’s choices are hurting Saskatchewan’s economy,” Wotherspoon said. “Whether it was by shutting down the booming Saskatchewan film industry when they scrapped the film tax credit, relentless outsourcing of public project construction to out-of-province and out-of-country companies, or what we’re seeing now with the tax hike on construction contracts. These choices are costing Saskatchewan people their jobs and preventing millions of dollars from being infused into the economy.”

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