CCI Response to the 2024 Saskatchewan Fiscal Plan

Today in Regina, Finance Minister Donna Harpauer delivered the 2024 Saskatchewan budget, entitled "Classrooms, Care & Communities."

In response to the budget, CCI President Benjamin Bergen issued the following statement:

“We understand that Saskatchewan’s fiscal situation will be challenging in 2024, and the government needs to make careful choices about spending priorities. We weren’t expecting major new programs or funding to support local technology companies, but we were disappointed that today’s spending plan doesn’t offer a clearer vision for growing Saskatchewan's innovation economy.

“The province has many bright minds and built-in advantages in the critical areas of agriculture technology, life-sciences and critical minerals technology. We hope to see more support for innovation in these areas in future budgets.

“Our members have long advocated for procurement reform to enable governments to purchase more locally made solutions. This approach supports local companies and positions them for future global contracts. The Saskatchewan government should embrace procurement reform as a path to reducing government spending, driving efficiency through innovative solutions, and boosting domestic technology companies.”

‍

CCI's Director of Prairie Affairs, Jess Sinclair, also delivered a statement on the budget:

"In today’s budget we saw the government extend two key innovation incentives — the Saskatchewan Technology Start-Up Incentive and the Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive.

"We were pleased to see the government enhance the tax credit for investors in early-stage technology businesses, and extend the program until 2027. We were also pleased to see the province recognize the importance of intellectual property through the extension of the Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive, which offers a reduced tax rate for corporations that commercialize their intellectual property in Saskatchewan.

"High growth technology companies should be a key component of Saskatchewan’s economy in the 21st century, and an important driver of economic growth. In today’s budget, we saw a government that devoted significant care and attention to the natural resources sector. In a world where all industries are becoming reliant on technology and innovation, it would have been encouraging to see a similarly expansive vision for the province’s future economy."

‍

Read CCI's pre-budget submission to the Saskatchewan government.

‍

Media Contact:
James McLeod
jmcleod@canadianinnovators.org