REGINA — The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) says a Saskatchewan heritage fund would be generating interest payments of $199 million had it been launched in 2013.
That is according to a report released this week by the federation, stating the province would have about $4 billion in savings.
“The report is clear: Saskatchewan needs to start a heritage fund now to save resource revenues and set the province up for the long-haul,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie director, in a statement. “Alaska and Norway built up successful heritage funds and they’re reaping the benefits.
“Saskatchewan taxpayers are losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars every year because provincial politicians keep procrastinating on saving money for the future.”
The taxpayers federation pointed out Alaska residents received $1,000 in a dividend from the fund last year while Norway’s fund is worth about $3.2 trillion.
They also pointed to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith saying last year that she planned to grow Alberta’s heritage fund, currently worth $31.9 billion, to at least $250 billion by 2050.
“Alberta is planning to build up its heritage fund and Saskatchewan can’t fall any further behind,” Haubrich said. “The Saskatchewan government needs to rein in spending, pay back the debt and start saving for the future with a heritage fund.”
The issue of heritage or sovereign funds has come to the fore again this year with news the federal government was launching its own sovereign wealth fund.
When asked in April about that move, and about whether Saskatchewan could launch its own sovereign fund, Premier Scott Moe had acknowledged that deficits and debt were considerations in their decision making on whether to go ahead.
“This year we were running a deficit, so we won't be able to contribute to a sovereign wealth fund this year,” Moe had said.
He noted that a few years before, when faced with a choice of paying down debt or launching a sovereign wealth fund, the government chose to pay down the provincial debt.
"So, it was a choice that we made. And if we are able to find our way to a surplus situation in the years ahead, that would be a choice we would make at that time.”
