Reduced student debt load and tax credits are among the promises made to young people by the three main Saskatchewan political parties vying to win government.
Each party chose the early days of the campaign to focus on ways to keep youth in the province and on the farm.
NDP leader Lorne Calvert announced programs like CareerStart, which would provide a $1,000 provincial income tax rebate to all post-secondary graduates employed in Saskatchewan the year after they graduate.
He offered a one-year interest-free grace period before student loan repayment begins. And he said the NDP would make it easier for students to qualify for bursaries.
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The Young Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan program would make $5 million in loans available to companies owned and operated by people younger than 30.
The Bridging Generations program would help young people to begin farming or take over a family farm by guaranteeing 10 percent of the required financing.
The NDP package, which Calvert identified as the major spending commitment in his campaign, was developed after a 1999 promise of first-year free tuition didn’t go over well with the public.
“That evolved us to looking at the option of providing some tax relief upon graduation if you commit to staying in the province,” Calvert told reporters. He said these initiatives would cost $52 million a year to implement.
“We are convinced we could easily manage this within growing revenues within a prospering economy,” he said.
The Saskatchewan Party is offering graduating post-secondary students an income tax cut of between $770 and $1,050 annually for up to four years after graduation.
With other tax changes, graduates who choose to work and live in the province will pay no income tax on their first $17,000 of income for four years.
“Under our Grow Saskatchewan Plan, graduating post-secondary students who choose to work and live in Saskatchewan will be eligible for a $7,000 annual income tax deduction every year for a maximum of four years after graduation,” says the party platform document.
Other promises include changing the student loan program so children of middle-income families have access to funds and asking private business to share post-secondary costs and training programs.
The Liberal party is also promising tax relief for students. It plans to forgive undergraduate student loans through a tuition tax credit over a four-year period, if the graduates remain in the province.
“Saskatchewan Liberals believe that post-secondary education students should be considered financially independent one year after having left high school,” the platform says. “We will negotiate with the federal government to make that change.”
The Liberals also want to beef up spending on education that includes work experience especially in the areas of engineering and computer science.
Both the Liberals and the Saskatchewan Party say they would implement the School Plus concept in the Kindergarten to Grade 12 system across the province.
This approach uses schools as centres of learning, support and community for children and families. For example, schools become places where the health, nutrition, recreation, culture, social and justice needs of families are met.
