PRE-BUDGET FOCUS ON EQUALIZATION, AGRICULTURE AND POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION

With billions of extra dollars at its disposal, now is the time for the federal government to renew its commitment for post-secondary education.

That was one of the messages Saskatchewan Finance Minister Harry Van Mulligen delivered to Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale at meetings with his provincial counterparts and federal officials in Ottawa yesterday.

Van Mulligen noted that the federal government, which is predicting $61 billion in budget surpluses between now and 2010, is in an excellent position to invest funds in post-secondary education.

"In Saskatchewan over the last five years, we have increased our budget for post-secondary education by $91.5 million – that's a 22.4 per cent increase between 1999 and 2004. Now is the time for the federal government to step up to the plate and invest in Canada's youth," Van Mulligen said.

Van Mulligen also raised with Goodale the issue of Saskatchewan's equal treatment of natural resource revenue, in light of the new deals reached between the federal government and the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador over offshore oil revenue.

Saskatchewan keeps, on average, about 10 per cent of all provincial royalties and taxes collected on oil and gas developments. In some years, Saskatchewan has lost all of its provincial energy revenues through equalization. This contrasts with Atlantic Canada's deal of being able to keep at least 100 per cent of its energy revenues.

"This is blatantly unfair," Van Mulligen said. "We want a new deal with respect to treatment of our natural resource revenue. I reiterated our position with Minister Goodale on Monday that the present level of clawbacks on our resource revenues is not acceptable. We estimate that we would have gained $4 billion over the last 10 years if we had the same deal as Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. That is money Saskatchewan people need."

Van Mulligen also discussed federal agricultural programming and the uneven financial impact that the CAIS program has on Saskatchewan. Right now, Saskatchewan pays 10 times more per capita than the Canadian average.

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For More Information, Contact:

Lorri Thacyk Finance Regina Phone: (306) 787-6605