Politics with Murray Mandryk
Wall is the Reason Rollbacks Are Needed
Page 14 - JANUARY 12 , 2017 - mARteNsville messeNgeR
Provincial
Politics with Murray Mandryk
Wall is the Reason Rollbacks Are Needed
For most of us , it is an easy and simple solution to ask Saskatchewan public servants to do their part to tackle the province ’ s million-dollar deficit . Though for Premier Brad Wall , it ’ s also a problem of his own making .
Consider the wages at SaskPower . According to the 2015-2016 Crown Payee Disclosure , the detailed spending at the public ’ s own Crown corporations including wages , 1,797 of 3,777 SaskPower employees were earning more than $ 100,000 a year . Total payroll was $ 344.8 million in 2015-2016 , so the average wage was $ 91,289 a year . Just a decade or so earlier in 2004 , there were only 164 SaskPower employees earning six figures a year , an average of $ 73,509 per year . Hence in about a decade , SaskPower payroll has nearly doubled and the average SaskPower wage has increased 24 percent . Of course , most of it occurred under the Wall ’ s watch .
It can be argued that SaskPower employees haven ’ t done nearly as well as other public servants like Saskatchewan ’ s registered nurses . Notwithstanding the Sask . Party ’ s introduction of its Essential Services legislation ( later struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada ) in 2008 , the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses ( SUN ) were greeted by 36-plus-per-cent wage increase over the next four years from the newly elected Wall government . Nurses ’ contracts since have
MLA Report From Nancy Heppner
Government Announces Move to Single Provincial Health Authority
Our government has accepted all of the recommendations of the Saskatchewan Advisory Panel on Health System Structure , and announced last week that the province will consolidate the 12 existing Regional Health Authorities ( RHAs ) into one single Provincial Health Authority .
Our government is committed to providing high quality health services across Saskatchewan and our goal is better coordination between the health services provided in different parts of the province . This change will also reduce administration and duplication across the health system .
ABOVE : MLA Nancy Hepner
The Advisory Panel has recommended the appointment of a single Board of Directors to govern the new Authority as well as system-wide improvements that include consolidation of administrative support functions , some clinical services , and the planning , dispatch and delivery of EMS .
A comprehensive plan is being developed that will work through critical implementation details , including legislation , governance , financial and change management considerations . While there is no firm timeline for the establishment of the new Authority , it is anticipated to occur in Fall 2017 .
Saskatchewan Taxpayers Will Save Through Indexation
been more in line with the two or three-percent annual wage increases of SaskPower employees . However you are getting the picture .
The last budget of the NDP government in 2006-2007 had operating expenses of $ 7.7 million which is roughly $ 3.7 million more than when the NDP took power 16 years earlier . However , according to the mid-year update for the 2016- 2017 budget , government spending in a decade has doubled a $ 7-million increase reaching $ 14.7 million . The political issue isn ’ t so much that employee wages make up 60 per cent of government spending , as Wall correctly observed in a series of yearend interviews with reporters . The issue is that it was Wall ’ s government who has been fully responsible for wages and government spending increases considering the rapidity in the past nine years in comparison to the spending and increases under the previous administration . “ I hope there ’ s goodwill and good faith on the part of provider unions and managers and people that work in the public service to realize that even what ’ s being paid right now might not be sustainable ,” Wall told The Canadian Press . “ At some point , I think we have to determine in the long-term interest of the province , do we engage in layoffs or rollbacks … that doesn ’ t always happen in government . Maybe we need to have that conversation and see if we can avoid what might be dramatic layoffs .” This statement is likely true . However , can Brad Wall make the argument , in good faith , when it was his government negotiating these
COMIC
huge wage increases in the past decade ?
In the case of 2008 ’ s 36-plus-percent increase given to the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses , it was deemed an unnecessary move even at the time . Moreover , Wall has been even more generous in the wage increases he has paid to individuals on his own staff in the past decade , many of whom saw fantastic increases in pay for nothing more than a change in job title . Also , there is the little matter of Wall increasing the legislative assembly by three more MLAs . Credit Wall for acknowledging that he knows this move will be unpopular . “ I ’ m not prepared to sort of kick this can down the road like provinces used to do in the ’ 80s or even like some are doing today ,” he said .
However if layoffs or wage cuts are now necessary , they have been made this way by Wall ’ s own decisions .
Tougher Impaired and Distracted Driving Laws Now In Effect
Tougher impaired driving legislation was passed in the fall , with strengthened laws taking effect January 1 , 2017 .
• Experienced drivers who are charged for the first time with having a blood alcohol content ( BAC ) over . 04 will have their vehicle seized for three days ;
• There will be zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol for all drivers 21 and under and all new drivers ; and
• Ignition interlock laws will be the strongest in Canada , with mandatory ignition interlock for drivers who register a BAC of . 16 or greater or refuse to provide a breath sample ( 1st offence - two years ; 2nd offence - five years ; 3rd and subsequent offence - 10 years ).
To help prevent distracted driving , the cellphone law has expanded from “ using ” a cellphone while driving to “ holding , viewing , using or manipulating ” a cellphone while driving . The following applies under both the current and new cellphone law :
• All drivers are prohibited from using hand-held cellphones .
• Experienced drivers can use hands-free devices , but new drivers can ’ t .
• If the cellphone is mounted on the dash , clipped to the visor or in a cradle , it ' s considered hands-free and it ’ s OK for an experienced driver to use it , provided they can access the phone with one touch of a button or voice commands .
You can visit SGI ’ s website at www . sgi . sk . ca for more information about these changes .
Letter to the Editor
Our government is committed to keeping Saskatchewan ’ s tax system fair and competitive , and yearly indexation is part of an array of measures aimed at accomplishing just that . All Saskatchewan income tax brackets and tax credit amounts will once again be indexed in 2017 .
This means individual taxpayers now pay no Saskatchewan income tax on their first $ 19,490 of income while a family of four pays no Saskatchewan income tax on their first $ 50,495 of income . This is the highest tax-free income threshold for a family of four in Canada .
With these annual savings , combined with the income tax cuts we introduced in
2008 , that means :
• A single person with a $ 25,000 annual income saves almost $ 1,000 each year ;
• A family of four with $ 50,000 combined income saves $ 2,694 each year ; and
• A family of four with $ 75,000 combined income saves $ 2,484 each year . Various reductions to personal income taxes will save Saskatchewan people more than $ 490 million in 2017 , and have resulted in about 112,000 low-income residents being removed from the income tax rolls entirely . We will continue working to protect your pocketbook and keep taxes low .
The Martensville Messenger welcomes letters to the editor for publication . Letters must be signed and a phone number and / or email address included so the writer ’ s identity can be verified . ALL letters are the opinion of the writer and NOT the Martensville Messenger . We reserve the right to edit letters for length , clarity or compliance with the current standards of public taste . Submit your letter to ssealey @ martensvillemessenger . ca or jottenbreit @ martensvillemessenger . ca or drop by the Martensville Messenger office at Bay # 7 - 301 Centennial Drive North .