Premier floats minimum wage hike as NDP proposes royalty rebate

On Monday, Saskatchewan’s NDP proposed a measure which could put a balm on some of the affordability pain people are feeling right now.

Then the premier shot his own idea right back.

“Times like these, people expect their government to step up and respond to the challenges they face, and these times are extraordinary,” said Trent Wotherspoon, the NDP’s finance critic.

The NDP is proposing a Windfall Profits Surcharge. It would add one per cent to Saskatchewan’s resource surcharge on oil when the WTI oil price exceeds $90 per barrel U.S., and on potash when the price goes over $700 Cdn per K20 tonne.

With prices being far above the stated threshold right now, Wotherspoon believes the increase could net the province $250 million.

He proposes half of that, $125 million, be immediately given back to residents of Saskatchewan in the form of a rebate cheque. The rest could be used for things like funding health care and other costs that would allow the provincial government to scrap the PST expansion outlined in the spring budget.

“This is a very modest increase and certainly doesn’t impact our competitiveness (and) certainly is no threat to (oil companies). It’s a very modest increase but a big difference for Saskatchewan people,” said Wotherspoon.

Wotherspoon called it a “common-sense measure” and pointed to other provinces that he said have mechanisms to capture windfall profits.

“(The companies are) cranking up their dividends many times over for their investors for their shareholders and that’s fine, that’s good, but what we’re saying is there should also be a fair dividend and a return for the owners of the resource (Saskatchewan people),” said Wotherspoon.

When asked about the possibility of the surcharge increase during Question Period, Premier Scott Moe shot down the idea but also announced the provincial government was already looking at another affordability measure — raising the minimum wage.

Moe called it a market-based adjustment that would be above and beyond the formula already in place to determine minimum wage increases. Moe also said it would be substantial, though he couldn’t say what that would mean in a dollar amount.

“It’s under active consideration now and I think there will be some details coming in the next number of days,” said Moe.

The increase would take place in the fall, at the same time the minimum wage is normally increased.

Moe said there would be consultations with the business community on the increase.

Nicole Sarauer, deputy NDP leader, called the minimum wage announcement a “classic move” from the premier to lob a trial balloon and try to change the channel from what the NDP was proposing.

Sarauer pointed out there aren’t any firm commitments on a larger increase.

“We’ll see. I think the proof will be in the details,” said Sarauer.

She said it was interesting the premier chose that particular time to talk about a minimum wage increase.

“I think it shows that the proposal our finance critic put forward today is an interesting one and one that has a lot of support and I think (Moe) is nervous,” said Sarauer.

Sarauer also said the NDP had called the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour after Question Period and it hadn’t heard anything or been consulted about the proposed increase yet.

On the issue of a larger increase in and of itself, Sarauer said the NDP has been pushed for a minimum wage hike for a long time, in particular, up to $15 an hour.

“It would substantially improve the lives of the people of this province and actually benefit the economy of Saskatchewan,” said Sarauer.

Saskatchewan currently has the lowest minimum wage in the country at $11.81 per hour, something Sarauer called “embarrassingly low.”

As for the NDP’s proposal itself, Moe said his government isn’t looking at raising the royalty surcharge or any other rate. Moe contends increasing taxes and regulation will reduce the province’s competitiveness, reduce investment, and thereby cost the province jobs.

“We believe that Saskatchewan natural resources industries are the very source of that wealth in our province and we want to do everything we can to do attract that investment here,” said Moe.