The debate that started off Monday’s Question Period in the Legislature was around affordability, with the Official Opposition stating that there has been a 37 per cent increase in food bank usage in Saskatchewan this year, which is the highest increase of all the provinces. NDP Leader Carla Beck suggested the $500 Affordability Tax Credit cheques for anyone 18 and older who filed their income tax last year isn’t enough. She quoted Canada’s Food Price Report which states that an average family of four will spend an extra $966 on groceries this year. Beck suggests the cheques will be swallowed whole just by this grocery increase alone, not including the rise in gas prices and the utility rate hikes from the government.

Premier Scott Moe agreed that the $500 cheques won’t cover everything, but he believes they are appreciated by residents. He adds that the government is also paying down $1-billion in debt, which will save interest costs down the road. Moe says, “We have made decisions that have resulted in taking 112-thousand people, low income citizens, off the provincial income tax roll altogether.” Back in 2017, the then Finance Minister Kevin Doherty stated that various personal income tax deductions from 2008 to 2017 had resulted in about 112,000 low-income people being removed from the tax roll. Moe also stated that $2-billion is provided annually in the budget to support low income residents.