The preamble to discussion of Saskatchewan’s recently released budget read that it is “being presented at a time of incredible uncertainty…” Who, exactly said that: NDP Opposition Leader Carla Beck, NDP Shadow Minister of Finance Trent Wotherspoon, or Leader Post columnist Murray Mandryk? Actually, it was our Minister of Finance Jim Reiter, and I haven’t the faintest idea on how to interpret this other than it reeks of “what if” uncertainty as to the direction this province is heading as we now face the spectacle of Donald Trump threatening Canada’s existence as a true and separate nation.
Leader Post columnist Murray Mandryk thinks that Reiter’s budget is or “could become one of the greatest works of fiction ever penned.” Few critics have been prepared to comment upon its lack of addressing the pressing issues voters were facing, be it a lack of housing initiatives, affordability (in particular, groceries and household goods) and inflation, much less comment upon the duplicity of it being described as “doing even more” for the economy than the lesser figures outlined in the 2024-2025 presentation.
For instance, it maintains that it is allocating more funds for health and educational needs alone, but if one adds in expenditures paid through warrants to cover unexpected program costs, the 2025-2026 budget clearly demonstrates that the government is trying to decrease spending despite an urgent need to perform the exact opposite.
The fairy tales that went into preparing revenue figures alone aren’t even subtle enough to enable Sask Party stalwarts to maintain that any opposition concerns as to its content are nothing more than “left-wing nonsense”. Oil royalty earnings assume their contribution from the government projecting revenue based upon a “per barrel” price $4 higher than current value, while no one realistically expects potash sales to increase with the product is already being subjected to Trump’s 25% tariff charge. As well, it’s difficult to understand in that when one considers that Trump’s tariffs are expected to create substantial job losses, personal tax revenues will rise – UNLESS Mr. Reiter is expecting EI compensation payments provided from the federal government will make up that difference.
Agricultural producers are already considering cutbacks to acreage seeding due to China’s 10 per cent tariff being imposed upon canola, and the anticipated growth in northern resource development is still two years away from actual implementation. Further hindrance to the economy is being caused by the government having abjectly failed to diversify the economy into “green” industries. The only “bright light” on the horizon appears to be a vague “hint” by Mark Carney that IF the Liberals form the next federal government, their first budget will include a comprehensive program to increase the construction of new homes and rental space in most major and mid-size Canadian cities. Without such help, we could potentially wind up with a provincial deficit for this year of anywhere from $1.4 billion to $4 billion – hardly “good news” to already worried taxpayers.
I seriously hate to say this, but the government does have a legitimate excuse to feed us a substantive dosage of Buckley’s and force us to swallow without coughing, because they can blame all of this on Donald Trump’s erratic tariffs and his particular antagonistic approach towards Canada in general. Yet even with this condescending piece of narcissistic filth breathing his nonsensical “truths” while demanding our fealty to his demands for Canada to become the U.S. 51st state, Moe’s contingent of eunuchs and maidservants have yet to grow the stones necessary to fight his bullying oppression. On Thursday, the NDP Opposition introduced a strongly worded motion stating that “condemns the Trump administration for proposing the annexation of Canada as the 51st state and imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.” The Saskatchewan Party merely amended it to read that “Canada will never be the 51st state.”
Moe’s subsequent “we will” and “we won’t” lists that followed this amendment, plus the inclusion of another jab taken at the carbon tax, sounded more like Pierre Poilievre than anything else. Mandryk has in the past noted this “soft-peddling” approach being taken by Moe as being dignified or even “Liberal” sounding, as it reflects former PM Jean Chretien’s notion that at present Canadians “can’t be smart and angry at the same time.” Still, I can’t for the life of me understand why Moe and Alberta’s Danielle Smith’s ring-kissing foray down to Washington is being seen by Trump as “weak”, with Canadian diplomats reporting in the U.S. capital claiming that Trump officials were already mocking them even before they’d boarded a plane back to Canada.
Simply put, Trump seriously believes that in the end we’re going to capitulate, and if he has to tell a few extra whoppers just to make certain the job is done, as once again he is playing us all for idiots if we actually believe that he “prefers” to deal with a newly elected Liberal PM, as opposed to his philosophical partner, Pierre Poilievre. In the meantime, though, he’ll continue his patterns of harassment such as delaying Indigenous Canadians crossing into the United States as the Jay Treaty allows, or by having ICE agents placing “American Pie” actress Jasmine Mooney in chains and jailing her for twelve days when all she was trying to do was renew her work visa.
Canadians now have to deal with an American MAGA message embracing white supremacy in combination with a smattering of manifest destiny belief that their will shall prevail – in effect, whatever Trump wants, he will get. American right-wing media “heavy” Tucker Carlson once suggested that under Trudeau, Canada was nothing more than a dictatorship, and that Trump should bomb our cities to “liberate” our citizenry. Don’t think for even a moment that Trump doesn’t believe Carlson’s suggestion is a good idea, especially if he believes that our will to survive as a nation can be changed using increasingly violent means.
Are you listening yet, Mr. Moe?
