REGINA — A sharp debate over northern infrastructure spending is emerging at the legislature, with the Opposition and government at odds over the highways budget.
The Opposition New Democrats took aim at the highways budget this week, raising concerns about capital spending on northern projects.
In the legislative assembly, the NDP pointed to northern roads funding dropping from $122.3 million to $86.3 million. They accused the government of underfunding and said this would lead to deteriorating road conditions.
“Does Scott Moe think the roads in the North are all fixed now?” said Leroy Laliberte, First Nations and Métis relations critic, in a news release. “If so, I don’t know who he’s talking to, but it certainly isn’t the people that drive them every day.”
Highways Minister Kim Gartner spoke to reporters Tuesday and denied the change represents a cut to highways projects.
He said the difference in numbers is due to project timing, noting that in 2025 “there is a bridge project that was completed between the village of Air Ronge and the town of La Ronge.”
Gartner also pointed to the average highways spending over the past three to five years for roads, infrastructure and airports as “around the $80 million mark.”
“This budget is not a cut. This is a commitment to northern Saskatchewan.”
Gartner added that when the province prepares its highways budget, “we look at a provincial picture.”
“In that picture, we don't dedicate funds to specific areas of the province. We are concerned with all areas of the province and we look to improve the safety of the system that we have. A safe, reliable, and dedicated system of highways and transportation for the province of Saskatchewan in all corners of the province is especially important to us.”
He also explained that as projects move through construction and into planning phases, “that budget may fluctuate up and down. So it's not a cut, it is a fluctuation of a budget that is presented to perform the projects that we've got in the planned move.”
NDP MLA for Cumberland Jordan McPhail rejected that explanation when speaking to reporters.
“We have $86 million this year. That's a $36 million cut,” said McPhail. “No matter which way the Minister wants to spin this, that's a cut to northern Saskatchewan highways, infrastructure, and airports.”
McPhail said this was “not the year to cut the budget,” pointing to evacuations in northern Saskatchewan during last year’s wildfires. He cited the condition of roads used during evacuations, including one highway that deteriorated within hours when main routes were closed.
“When this Minister comes to this microphone, comes to the Rotunda, and tells the people in northern Saskatchewan that he's concerned about their safety, I have no idea who he's talking to, because every single person that I spoke to in northern Saskatchewan needed to see more investment in that infrastructure,” said McPhail.
“They needed to see that the Minister, that this government was taking their issues seriously and providing them that infrastructure so that when wildfires do hit again in northern Saskatchewan this year, that they know that they can trust the roads, that they know that they can trust the wildfire response. But what we see time and time from this government, day in and day out, is that they say that they've listened to the people of Saskatchewan. I have no idea who that Minister is talking to, not one clue.”
