By Chris Jaster
The Saskatchewan government’s rainy day fund is going to be used to pay for a rainy spring.
The government plans to use the fund — which is nearing $1 billion — to help individuals and municipalities across the province recover from flooding.
“We’re fortunate right now that the province is continuing to be on a growth initiative,” said Ken Krawetz, who took over as the province’s finance minister on June 29. “The current budget is on track and as a result of the year end that occurred on March 31 that showed nearly $1 billion in the fund, we will
access some of that, if necessary, to ensure the costs of individuals are covered.”
Saskatchewan has been ravaged by natural disasters this spring — parts of Maple Creek, Saskatoon and Yorkton flooded — and the government is working with insurance companies and residents to help get life back to normal in those communities through the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP).
Each business and resident who lives in a community that was declared a state of emergency and suffered property damage is eligible for up to $160,000 to cover non-insurable damage under PDAP.
Although it would take just 6,250 full PDAP claims to make the rainy day fund disappear, Krawetz expects the federal government to step up and cover some of the PDAP expenses.
“The federal program picks up the largest share of PDAP. That’s why it was very important to have the prime minister out here to have a look at Saskatchewan and the damages that have been sustained — not just to individual properties, but municipal damages where roads have been washed out and bridges and culverts have been jeopardized to a degree and need reinforcement,” said Krawetz, referring to Stephen Harper’s visit to Yorkton July 8.
The province is working with the federal government to put together all of the programs for each area that was affected by a natural disaster under a single claim that is weather-related. It will, however, take a long time to compile the total cost of the programs, as claims are still coming in. This means it could take a while for federal money to help Saskatchewan residents.
Regardless of the situation, Krawetz is confident the government will stick to the budget.
“If we’re going to be adding additional expenditures to this year’s budget, it will be because we have additional revenues as well,” he said.