Saskatchewan Finance Minister Ken Krawetz says budget today will be tight

REGINA – Saskatchewan Finance Minister Ken Krawetz says revenue is down for the province and that means the budget tabled today will be tight.

Krawetz says the bottom line is hurting largely because the province isn’t getting as much money for oil due to a price gap between Canadian heavy oil and U.S. light oil.

He says the budget will be balanced, but tough decisions had to be made.

Talk of a tighter budget comes after the province dipped into its rainy-day fund to pay the bills in its third-quarter financial update released Feb. 14.

The Opposition says it wants to see a budget that fixes the basics of health care, seniors care and education.

The NDP says it also doesn’t want to see the province raise the education part of property taxes to pay for bridges and roads — something Premier Brad Wall recently mused about.