Flood costs in Sask. total $360M; tally expected to grow

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Published: February 17, 2012

,

Saskatchewan’s flood costs have ballooned to $360 million in the third-quarter financial report released Feb. 10 from a projected $244 million at mid-year.


Saskatchewan’s flood costs have ballooned to $360 million in the third-quarter financial report released Feb. 10 from a projected $244 million at mid-year.

Finance minister Ken Krawetz said those costs have been offset by a $193 million contribution from the federal government for its portion of cost-shared programs and a $120 million special dividend from Crown Investments Corporation, namely SaskPower.

The majority of the flood cost, $145.1 million, is related to claims for property damage under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program. The federal government paid most of the $123.3 million under the PDAP sliding scale.

Read Also

tractor

Farming Smarter receives financial boost from Alberta government for potato research

Farming Smarter near Lethbridge got a boost to its research equipment, thanks to the Alberta government’s increase in funding for research associations.

The costs will go higher.

“We’ve met the challenges in agriculture. We’ve met the challenges in PDAP,” Krawetz said. “There are still claims coming in and there will be additional dollars that will be expended into the future that will involve both the province and the federal government.”

He said highway development is an ongoing expense but flooding did cause unanticipated repair.

On the other hand, the abundance of water pushed SaskPower’s revenue higher because it was able to produce more hydroelectric power at a cheaper cost. The corporation’s revenue for the year will be well above $250 million and allowed for the special dividend, Krawetz said.

The general revenue fund is on track for a thin surplus of $56 million this year, he said.

He will announce the 2012-13 budget March 21.

About the author

Karen Briere

Karen Briere

Karen Briere grew up in Canora, Sask. where her family had a grain and cattle operation. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Regina and has spent more than 30 years covering agriculture from the Western Producer’s Regina bureau.

explore

Stories from our other publications