Calmer Sask. assembly debates taxes as deficit balloons

The opening week of the fall sitting of the Saskatchewan Legislature acted as a post-script to last month's election campaign, with the government and Opposition promoting their plans to address affordability concerns.

The Opposition attempted twice unsuccessfully to introduce emergency motions to have the government adopt NDP pitches for tax cuts.

On Tuesday, NDP finance critic Trent Wotherspoon called for the government to suspend the provincial fuel tax for six months, saving drivers $0.15 per litre on gasoline. Opposition Leader Carla Beck campaigned on the measure and has been calling for it for months.

Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador have all suspended fuel tax in recent months.

During debate in the assembly, Finance Minister Jim Reiter said, "[Wotherspoon] brought this up so many times last spring in session. He never answers the question, which is simply this: all that gas tax plus goes toward the highways budget. Is he going to cut the highways budget?"

Wotherspoon responded, "no, we wouldn't cut the highways budget. We'd cut the mismanagement, scandal and waste of that Sask. Party government."

After the debate, Wotherspoon introduced his emergency motion to have the gas tax cut.

The pitch predictably ran out of gas before Wotherspoon could get comfortable in his chair.

Premier Scott Moe said the plan amounted to a "tax holiday." He backed the government's campaign promises, committed to in the throne speech, for predictable tax changes to personal income taxes that he said would eventually see an estimated 54,000 people no longer paying income taxes.

It was no shock when, on Thursday, Wotherspoon took to his feet again to introduce a motion to have the government remove the PST on some grocery store items, like prepared meals and small packaged items.

Once again, that pitch was swatted down by the government.

During the debate on Thursday, Moe incorrectly claimed, "I'd reiterate one more time, Mr. Speaker, there is no PST on groceries in the province of Saskatchewan."

Technically, PST is not applied to all grocery items. But some items like granola bars, rotisserie chicken, snack foods and ready-to-eat sandwiches and salads do bear the tax.

The NDP estimates cutting that tax would cost the government $25 million in tax revenue.