Saskatchewan’s premier has laid out his hopes for the federal budget set to be announced Monday afternoon.
Speaking to reporters on Friday about the budget announcement, Moe said he wants the federal government to commit to being a full-funding partner of health care with a lift to the Canada Health Transfer over the next year or two. He also wants more funding to Saskatoon’s VIDO-InterVac as they continue to develop a Saskatchewan-made COVID-19 vaccine.
“If we are at some point in time going to encounter a variant of COVID that the current vaccines do not address, we’d be able to adapt to addressing that issue very quickly with the research, development and production capabilities that VIDO-InterVac is working towards,” discussed Moe.
The premier said these two items would be his primary asks among a number of interests.
He is also hoping for more supports towards infrastructure projects and money from the Low Carbon Economy Fund.
“Obviously, (we are) looking for the $126 million that the federal government owes the province of Saskatchewan with respect to the Low Carbon Economy Fund. I think we’re going to have to send them an invoice,” added Moe.
He mentioned one concern is the federal government’s efforts to eventually return to a balanced budget as the deficit is expected to be in the neighbourhood of $350 billion to $400 billion. Moe hopes there will be indications by the federal government that they are working towards a structural plan to get the Canadian fiscal house in order.
“The deficit they have this year, not just the spending, but the deficit and additional debt they will take on will be $10,000 for each and every Canadian across this nation.”
