Moe defends travel, talks school funding after trip to U.S.

After spending the last week in New York and Washington, D.C., Premier Scott Moe met reporters at the airport in Saskatoon on Friday afternoon.

Moe said he’d had a busy week with 40 meetings, including meetings with members of New York’s financial and investment sector, and with governors, state senators and house representatives in the U.S. Capitol.

“We’re happy to be there to represent Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan jobs (and) Saskatchewan families,” Moe said. “I think we’re seeing the results in the province as to some of this engagement that we’re having around the world.”

When asked about his numerous recent trips around the world and the rising cost of living for Saskatchewan people, Moe said the two were not connected.

“With respect to the cost of living conversation … we’ve been very clear. We’re about 50 days into our budget cycle this year. As we find our way through to Q1, Q2, if the natural resource prices are continuing to show strength, we will look at how we can cushion that for Saskatchewan people,” the premier said.

Moe would not specify exactly what that cushion could look like, or when any possible financial relief from the high cost of gas may be announced. He instead suggested the federal government also look at carbon tax relief.

“There’s tremendous opportunity for us, at all levels of government, the federal government in particular, to remove any impediments that are further pushing that fuel tax higher,” he added.

Premier responds to school funding concerns

Moe said he was “perplexed” by the news that school divisions in both Saskatoon and Regina will begin charging lunchtime supervision fees after facing deficits this year, adding that school funding has increased.

“There are ample reserves in many if not all school divisions across the province,” he said.

“Those reserves have actually increased over the course of the last number of years. Before a school division is going to charge parents additional dollars for noon-hour recess … they most certainly should be looking at using some of the reserves that have been growing in the last few years, as opposed to sending out invoices to parents.”

When challenged about the size of those reserves and the sustainability of drawing from them, Moe said over the long term it wouldn’t be sustainable, but this year should be an exception.

“We would ask them to look at that in the short term,” Moe said.

Moe added that school budgets are being submitted to the education minister by the end of June and, if needed, there could be more discussions with individual school divisions at that time.