As industry leaders in Saskatchewan weigh in on federal government decisions budgetthey say many boxes are checked while others are left blank.
Agricultural producers in the province say they are pleased with the budget's focus on agriculture, especially investment in local infrastructure.
But the president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) says it's more focused on long-term investments and isn't doing enough to address current issues facing the industry, such as the China problem. tariffs on canola and yellow peas.
“As manufacturers, we are not necessarily looking for monetary assistance from the government. We are looking for concrete ways to remove these tariffs so that we can resume normal commerce,” Bill Prybylski said.
“This is what we need, this is what we are looking for.”
India imposed a new 30 per cent tariff on Canadian yellow pea growers on November 1, adding to China's 100 per cent tariff on yellow peas imposed in March.
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China's tariffs were seen as retaliation for Canada's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, while India says the tariffs are intended to curb cheaper imports of yellow peas and support domestic farmers.
Pribylsky says the pea, lentil and bean industry, also known as pulses, took a hit last year, with pea prices down about 30 to 40 percent this year.
“We are concerned about the state of the bean industry in Saskatchewan,” Prybylski said, adding that he hopes to see additional protections for the industry in the budget.
On the mining side, the president of the Saskatchewan Mining Association says the budget has a number of positives, such as nuclear commitments, tax breaks and a new critical minerals sovereign fund for government investment in projects.
But Pam Schwann says she wants to see how industrial carbon emissions are priced in the future.
“One of the really important issues that we have that we have yet to get clarity on is the whole climate competitiveness strategy,” Schwann said, adding that knowing what the price of industrial carbon emissions is will help the mining industry remain competitive globally.
Schwann says she also wants project evaluation to be a provincial responsibility to move projects forward more efficiently, rather than the current requirement that projects need provincial and federal approval.
“We're not looking for workarounds in the regulatory system, we're just looking for a more efficient system that could be created and was created, and there's little mention of that in this budget,” Schwann said, adding that the wait time for project approval could be cut from 15 years to three.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, NDP Leader Carla Beck said the budget's investment in trade infrastructure is significant and insisted the projects are urgent.
“We are at a critical moment and we are starting to build this infrastructure. It’s good that it was announced, now we need to focus on actually building it,” she said.
Saskatchewan Finance Minister Jim Reuther told reporters on Wednesday he would like to see a larger infrastructure program and hopes to get federal officials on board in the next few weeks.
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