The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) appreciates the 2020 Provincial Budget’s increased dollars to initiatives and programs that benefit rural Saskatchewan.
The new budget increases municipal revenue sharing to $278 million, $27 million more than the previous year. RMs will receive $79 million. Municipal revenue sharing is a reliable funding resource that RMs count on to serve their communities.
Additional funding for the RIRG program to 15 million will assist with additional bridge funding. SARM will continue to work with the government to identify additional ways to solve the ongoing bridge infrastructure challenges. $1.7 billion is allocated to our Crown Corporations for upgrades to improve services over the next year.
During this uncertain time, the $85 million for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) is positive. The SPSA supports the province’s people, municipalities and service providers, and is positioned to address any emergency that may arise, such as the current pandemic we are facing.
SARM looks forward to learning more about the new tax incentive to support new and expanded pipelines, as well as new pipeline terminals, to flow oil to markets through the Oil Infrastructure Investment Program.
The investment of $244.3 million for Business Risk Management programs offered under the federal-provincial Canadian Agriculture Partnership (CAP) is welcome news for our members and an important investment for our agriculture industry.
“As we are all experiencing in these challenging times, reliable internet is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity,” expressed SARM President Ray Orb. “Our economy and the livelihood of Saskatchewan residents and people worldwide is uncertain. We are grateful of the support provincially and federally to help everyone through this unprecedented situation, and we will continue to work on behalf of rural municipalities.”
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For more information please contact:
Ashley Leugner
Communications and Marketing Coordinator
Phone: (306) 761-3931
aleugner@sarm.ca
