No losses of public money according to provincial reports

The most recent quarterly reports on losses of public money have been released, showing no losses by the Ministry of Advanced Education and the Ministry of Health in the most recent fiscal quarter.

The reports cover various government industries and Crown corporations which were tabled with their respective legislative committees, spanning from April 1 and June 30, 2021.

Nil reports were tabled by the Provincial Controller for the Executive Government and the Crown Investments Corporation for the Crown sector, covering their first quarter of 2021-22, according to a news release Tuesday morning.

No money or property was lost by Saskatchewan Polytechnic and the regional colleges due to fraud or similar acts by employees, suppliers or contractors during the fourth quarter of the 2020-2021 academic year, the Ministry of Advanced Education confirmed.

Saskatchewan health organizations reported no confirmed losses in the first quarter of the 2021-22 fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Health, which reports losses by the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Athabasca Health Authority and Saskatchewan Agency.

The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) reported their second-highest year on record for direct economic benefits to the province — an impact of $844 million — in its 2020-21 annual report and economic impact.

The SRC also reported contributing to the creation or maintenance of at least 6,000 jobs in the province, valued at $460 million.

“This past year pushed SRC to adapt and innovate in new ways in order to continue to deliver on its mission of growing and strengthening the Saskatchewan economy,” said Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for SRC.

“By helping their clients succeed, SRC is generating positive economic impacts which create and maintain jobs in a variety of key industries in our province – playing an important role in the post-pandemic economic recovery.”

SRC president and CEO Mike Crabtree said the organization’s record-breaking year for revenue and ability to impact the provincial economy despite COVID-19 challenges reflects the SRC’s fundamental strengths: “the ability to adapt quickly, the ability to innovate in the face of new challenges and to the (sheer) dedication of our employees.”

In the 2020-21 year, SRC reported $137 million in revenue, a $46 million increase since they reported $91 million in 2019-20. The organization also reported that for every dollar invested in SRC, a 42 times return was achieved this year.