Released on August 8, 1997
Economic and Co-operative Development Minister Janice MacKinnon,Provincial Action Committee on the Economy (PACE) Chair Harold MacKay
and Competitiveness Review Chair Bill Gaynor today released PACE's
Review of the Competitiveness of Saskatchewan's Business Climate.
"I am very grateful to the members of the subcommittee for the
extensive work they carried out," MacKinnon said. "The report
provides a very valuable piece of research for the provincial
government to consider as we work with various partners to refine our
economic strategy.
"We have made a lot of progress in building our economy. Saskatchewan
people worked hard to restore fiscal stability. As a result, we are
paying down our debt, reducing taxes and seeing ever increasing job
numbers.
"But there is still more to do. Through reports like this and the
budget process we will continue to focus on key areas - improving our
roads and our training systems; encouraging research and development
and expanding trade opportunities," MacKinnon said.
The provincial government asked PACE to conduct a competitiveness
review under the provincial Partnership for Growth economic
strategy. Last October, PACE formed a special subcommittee to
study Saskatchewan's business climate. This subcommittee used a
cost comparison study of competing North American jurisdictions,
an opinion survey of Saskatchewan business people, and direct
requests for input from various organizations.
"There have been some clear signals from the government that
there is a commitment to improving the business climate," MacKay
said. "Although there are areas that can be improved, we were
pleased to see the results that show the province is leading in a
number of key sectors."
"There is a lot of good news about Saskatchewan in the report,"
MacKinnon said. "Saskatchewan people are known as being hard
working and enterprising. We enjoy a quality of life that is
second to none.
"The cost of doing business in Saskatchewan is lower than
American cities. As well, we have low construction and
commercial real estate costs, low operating costs and we lead in
key sectors including agbiotech and pork processing.
"These are strengths upon which we should build. However, there
are also areas in which improvement is required," MacKinnon said.
The report pointed out that Saskatchewan's competitive position
was adversely affected by taxation levels in some areas and
recommended that this situation be reviewed and acted on where
appropriate.
"The provincial government has already lowered taxes in strategic
areas which will lead to economic growth and job creation,"
MacKinnon said. "We lowered the PST to 7 per cent earlier this
year and, in the past few years, reduced corporate income tax for
small businesses and manufacturers. We will continue our
balanced approach to lowering taxes, paying down the debt, and
strengthening our social programs."
"The subcommittee has put forward some very ambitious
recommendations to make our province more competitive
internationally," Gaynor said. "We recognize that these
recommendations cannot be acted on instantly and must be
considered with other competing demands on government
resourcing."
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For more information, contact:
Debbie Wilkie
Communications Director
Saskatchewan Economic and Co-operative Development
Regina
Phone: (306)787-1691