There were few surprises for Saskatchewan farmers in today’s provincial budget.
The government had already announced last fall it would fully fund its share of the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program for the 2007 claim year and allocated $118,335,000 to do so.
It will also spend just more than $104 million on the crop insurance program.
Spending on industry assistance will double, from $7.3 million to $14.6 million, thanks to the last of the wedge funding from Ottawa under the Agricultural Policy Framework.
Total spending will rise from $264.8 million to $298.9 million, according to budget documents.
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There were no specific programs implemented for farmers affected by drought or those experiencing flooding.
Finance minister Andrew Thomson said it’s likely there will be more weather-related incidents due to climate change and the province is waiting for Ottawa to come up with a disaster program that it promised during the last federal campaign.
“They’ve really delivered nothing,” he told reporters.
Thomson chastised the federal government for its March 19 budget commitment to Saskatchewan of one-time equalization funding worth $226 million, rather than a long-term deal.
In keeping with its promise, the province has allocated 30 percent of that money, or $68 million, to property tax relief over the next two years. Thomson said the province will deepen its eight percent relief for residential and commercial property owners to 10 percent if and when the federal government passes.
This budget allocated $108 million to property tax relief; $58 million of that goes to agricultural land.
The province will spend $21 million on ethanol fuel tax rebates, reflecting the increased production in the province.
It had already announced increased funding for rural roads and revenue sharing.
The 14th consecutive balanced budget includes a $510 million draw down from the fiscal stabilization fund, a $75 million surplus, and spending of nearly $7.8 billion. Government debt at the end of 2007-08 will stand at $7.3 billion.
