A look at some highlights of the Saskatchewan budget

REGINA – Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government presented its 2020-21 budget built around the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of the highlights:

— A $2.4-billion deficit with revenues of almost $13.7 billion and expenses at $16.1 billion.

— A $319-million deficit for 2019-20 because of economic deterioration in the fourth quarter.

— Spending of $7.5 billion over two years on infrastructure and highway projects to stimulate the economy.

— A $200-million contingency in health to cover COVID-19 expenses if there is a second wave of infections.

— A 6.3 per cent decline in economic growth in 2020 because of the pandemic and 15,800 jobs forecast to be lost by the time the 2020-21 fiscal year ends.

— Provincial debt load growing by $3 billion; $1.9 billion of that tied to pandemic-related initiatives

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2020