SpendingTracker.ca
There are lots of spending promises so far in the 2011 Sask provincial election, but which party is promising the most in terms of new spending?
SpendingTracker.ca will try and keep an up to date tally on commitments made by each party so that taxpayers, the media and other interested observers can keep stay informed.
The commitments so far...
| Date/Source | Amount | Platform Spending Description |
| Pre-Election | $50 million | Prince Albert Bridge |
| Platform | $360.8 million | Housing (less seniors property tax rebate) |
| Platform | $421.9 million | Health Operating & 2 Lines of Capital Spending |
| Platform | $410.3 million | Opportunity and Propserity for All |
| Platform | $483 million | Families and Communities |
| Platform | $72.4 million | Green Future |
| Platform | $400.2 million | Education |
| Platform | $2.5 million | On-Line/Phone Services |
| Platform | $19 million | Surgical Diagnostic Centres (Capital) |
| Platform | $11 million | Emergency Centres (Capital) |
| Platform | $400 million | Bright Futures Fund (savings account for spending on services in the future) |
| Platform | - $75 million | Cuts |
| Platform | ??? | Share resource revenues with reserves. No estimate provided |
| OCT-25 | ??? | Produce 400 megawatts of wind power over next four years versus natural gas. No estimate provided. |
| TOTAL | >$2.555 Billion |
| Date | Amount | Description |
| OCT-11 | $90 million | Post secondary scholarships/funding |
| OCT-14 | $56.6 million | Credits/support for seniors |
| OCT-17 | $103.5 million | Support for the disabled (SAID program support) |
| OCT-17 | $4 million | Autism funding increase over four years |
| PLATFORM | $48.6 million | Stars Helicopter program expansion, forgiveable loans, various other health care commitments |
| OCT-19 | $13.8 million | Crime strategy (various components, $3.45 million over 4 years) |
| OCT-20 | $10 million | Provincial park upgrades |
| OCT-20 | $7.6 million | Ice rink funding |
| PLATFORM | $1 million | Funding for Institute for Global Food Security |
| PLATFORM | $1 million | Funding for Enhanced Oil Research Recovery |
| PLATFORM | $19 million | Fund 2,000 child care spaces |
| TOTAL | $355.1 Million |
| Date | Amount | Description |
| See Platform | ??? | "Dedicate 100% of future unbudgeted surpluses from renewable resource revenues to the elimination of public debt in Saskatchewan" (value dependent on actual unbudgeted resource revenue surpluses) |
| " | ??? | Once the public debt is fully eliminated, 50% of all future non-renewable resource revenues will be invested in a new sovereign wealth fund: the Saskatchewan Future Fund. (Dependent on future elimination of the debt, resource revenues, etc.) |
| " | $120 million | "Making Mental Health and Addiction a Priority" ($100 million one-time, $5 million annual) |
| " | $400 million | Creating a Senior and Elder Caregiver Benefit |
| " | "Neutral" | Reducing the burden of student debt |
| " | $200 million | Put nurses, pediatricians, social workers and other health care professionals in schools, more special education/EAs & after school coordinators, other education commitments |
| " | "Neutral" | Eliminate Enterprise Saskatchewan/Create Rural Development Corporations |
| " | -$4.1 billion | Value for money audits of each department with 10% spending reduction goal for 2012-13 ($4.1 billion is a simple savings estimate over four years) |
| " | ??? | Feed-in tariff for renewable energy (cost to taxpayers unknown) |
| " | ??? | Premium prices for speciifc energy projects to promote storage (cost to taxpayers unknown) |
| " | $4 million | Create/maintain lobbyist registry |
| TOTAL | -$3.376 Billion | |
Notes: Totals represent new spending commitments. Operating expenditures are based on a four-year term. Tax relief not included in party spending totals. Please email [email protected] with feedback/comments.