The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce is urging the Premier not to raise taxes and to invest more in the North, even though the next Saskatchewan budget is expected to be a tight one.
That message was delivered in Regina Thursday night during a closed-door meeting with chamber members, the premier and several of his cabinet ministers.
The chamber and the province are usually on the same page, but these are difficult times and difficult decisions will have to be made.
Despite tough times, the government should spend more in the North now to save money in the future, said chamber CEO Steve McLellan said despite tough times, spending in the North.
“Don’t look at what it would cost you if you did it, look at what it would cost you if you didn’t,” he said.
“The social cost of housing and the challenges in many communities, the fact that too many children are not graduating high school and getting the post-secondary training skills option, the fact that those kids will not be significant contributors to the economy, all of those cost the province money and cost those people opportunities.”
In 2014, the chamber released a 12-point plan to improve the economic and social conditions in the North. Progress is being made, McLellan said, but it is always a tough sell when the area is so sparsely populated and covers such a large portion of the province.
“The challenges are significant,” he said. “Geographically it’s a long way up. Even with a four-way paved highway to Stony (Rapids) it’s a hellish long drive, but the reality is we are not talking about a paved four lane, we are talking about reasonable access.”
The chamber’s Northern Saskatchewan task force will be doing another northern tour this May.
Next month, it will be lobbying the federal government to improve the nutrition north program to help reduce the high cost of food in remote northern Saskatchewan communities.