Anti-poverty advocates pan Sask. budget's affordability measures

The Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry says the 2025-26 Saskatchewan budget doesn't do enough to protect those most vulnerable in a turbulent economy threatened by looming tariffs.

"Obviously this is going to have an impact on everybody, but our experience working in the low-income sector is that the people that are always hurt the most by these types of changes are the people who have the least," said Peter Gilmer with the anti-poverty ministry, who spoke to CBC at the Legislature after the budget release Wednesday.

"When we're going into a budget where folks are only getting into an additional two per cent at the lowest end of the spectrum … that's disturbing for us."

The Saskatchewan Party government made affordability a large plank of its 2024 election campaign. Many of the promises made are in the budget: raising income tax exemptions, increasing low-income supports and boosting the Active Families Benefit.

The budget includes a two per cent increase to the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) and the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability benefits. That works out to monthly increases of around $20 and $24 respectively, Gilmer said.

"Given the cost of living crisis that we've been dealing with and the fact that these rates have been far too low for far too long, that's nowhere near enough," Gilmer said.

The Low-Income Tax Credit is increasing by five per cent annually for four years, benefiting more than 300,000 people and families, according to the province. An increase to the Personal Care Home Benefit for low-income seniors in licensed personal care homes will help about 2,000 people, the province said.

The government's affordability measures will please some people, but still fall short, said Simon Enoch, senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

"I'm sure people in the middle class will welcome the tax cuts," Enoch said. "I think the low-income people are the people here that may be sacrificed."

Enoch was surprised the budget didn't include a contingency fund to help people potentially affected by U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and fallout from an extended trade war.

"I had really hoped that the government would've swung for the fences here, because we are in an extremely precarious economic and financial situation, potentially," he said. "This was an opportunity to really rise to the occasion. And I just don't see anything here that shows the urgency of this situation we're in."

Enoch wanted the budget to include supports like job re-training funds for laid-off workers or price-gouging protection for consumers, and more local procurement programs like the province just established for steel.

Sask Sport, the non-profit advocating for amateur sports, welcomed increases to the Active Families Benefit, which reimburses parents for costs involved with sports, arts and cultural activities. The province doubled the benefit to $300 and doubled its income threshold to $120,000.

The change will make community sports more accessible for some families, said Rob Kennedy, sports division manager at Sask Sport.