Revenue sharing to highlight SUMA convention in Saskatoon

The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA), annual convention begins Sunday at TCU Place in Saskatoon.

A number of issues and items are on the agenda at the convention, ranging from educational sessions on a number of topics, to meetings with provincial government ministers.

Randy Donauer, who is serving as the conference chair for SUMA this year, said municipal revenue sharing is a big issue at this year’s convention, especially with the legalization of recreational cannabis. Donauer said both the federal and provincial governments are collecting revenues from sales while municipalities are left out.

“We’re paying a lot of the bills for rolling it out,” he said.

Donauer said revenue sharing for urban municipalities is becoming more important as more people are moving to cities and towns. According to Donauer, preservation of the current formula, which sees one per cent of PST revenues go to municipalities, is central to SUMA’s strategy.

“We would like to make sure that our portion doesn’t go down,” he said.

The provincial government is expected to announce a revenue sharing agreement in the near future, but Donauer said there is no hard timeline.

“The premier could make an announcement this week, but we’re anticipating it will be in the next few months if it’s not announced at the convention,” he said.

When it comes to the issue of the carbon tax, Donauer said the policy needs to be worked out between the provincial and federal governments. He added the topic will probably come up during certain parts of the conference.

“There is a bear pit session where all of cabinet lines up in front of the room with the premier and any one of our thousand delegates can get up and ask any question, my guess is you’re probably going to see it raised there,” he said.