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Anticipation mounts as Sask. budget to be revealed

Mar 22, 2017 | 8:35 AM

After months of speculation, one of the most anticipated provincial budgets in recent memory will be revealed Wednesday afternoon.

We already know the deficit has ballooned to $1.2 billion and now Finance Minister Kevin Doherty admits to some “difficult decisions.”

Wage rollbacks, job cuts and a hint the PST could increase have all been telegraphed by the government in the last few months.

And Doherty is not shying away from that.

“In some cases, when you’re dealt with a situation like we’ve been dealt with the last few years with respect to resource revenues, you’ve got to change course and make some difficult decisions to ensure your path is sustainable and that is what we’ve been working through,” Doherty explained.

“We just need to make some adjustments to provide some sustainability for our revenue base here in the province to deliver the services that we want to continue to deliver to the people of Saskatchewan.”

We know the books will not be balanced, instead the deficit will be reduced over a three-year period.

But how that reduction is achieved appears to rely heavily on you paying more as a consumer.

smills@cjme.com
On Twitter: @smillsSK