Author: Michael Holden
As a think tank dedicated to improving the long-term prosperity of western Canada, the Canada West Foundation will be paying close attention to the signals being sent by the region’s provincial governments and the federal government in their 2013/14 budgets.
Western Canada is facing a number of challenges that governments must address including sluggish productivity growth, looming labour shortages, gaining access to new markets and enhancing the performance of the public sector. We need to be investing in the future, not just spending in the present.
With the above challenges in mind, Saskatchewan’s Budget Preview lists four things we hope to see in the March 20 budget:
- Measures to reduce dependence on resource revenues.
- Action to address current and future labour shortages.
- Strategic investments in export-related infrastructure and market development initiatives.
- Tax reforms to improve business competitiveness.Our post-budget analysis, which will be available on March 21, 2013 will assess the degree to which progress is being made in these areas.