Released on November 5, 1998
Premier Roy Romanow and Finance Minister Eric Cline today announced
that the government is making every effort to widen public
participation in the consultation process for the preparation of the
1999-2000 budget.
"We've done a round of pre-budget consultations every budget," Romanow
said. "This year we want to give the people of Saskatchewan a chance
to look at the numbers and we want to listen to their views about our
province's priorities."
Residents will be able to tell the government what they believe are
the key issues and the best approaches to handling these in the
following ways:
Information sent to all households with details on the province's
economy and financial situation along with a budget worksheet and
a mail-in survey;
Local discussion groups, organized by MLAs;
A province-wide forum televised by SCN at which representatives
from the discussion groups and community and organization
representatives take part;
An Internet site; and,
A toll-free line.
As in the past, the minister of Finance and other cabinet ministers
will attend regional meetings with community representatives to
discuss specific views about the budget.
"We have made a commitment to responsible financial management,"
Cline said. "This includes a dialogue among Saskatchewan people
about how we manage important Saskatchewan services, taxes and
financial resources."
A report with recommendations will be issued following the forum
and a final summary on the entire consultation process will be
included in the 1999-2000 budget in March.
"We've learned from the new approaches to consultation pioneered
during last year's public discussions on the Calgary
Declaration," Romanow said. "Now, we are going to apply them to
budget consultation.
"The people of Saskatchewan have put the province back on track
through hard work and common sense. They elect governments to
show leadership and make decisions in the public interest. They
also elect governments to listen carefully before acting and that
is what we are going to do," Romanow added.
The tabloid and questionnaire will be mailed to all Saskatchewan
households over the next week and the forum is scheduled to be
held in Saskatoon November 30 and December 1.
Anyone interested in becoming involved or hearing more details on
the consultation may get more information:
By calling a toll-free line, 1-888-287-8868;
On the worldwide web at www.gov.sk.ca/future; or,
By email at prebudget@govmail.gov.sk.ca
-30-
For more information, contact:
Debbie Wilkie
Finance
Regina
Phone: (306)787-8112
Julianne Jack
Media Services
Regina
Phone: (306)787-6349
1999-2000 Pre-Budget Consultation Fact Sheet
"Balancing Our Future ... Together"
Conference - "Building Saskatchewan's Future -- The Road Ahead"
November 30 and December 1, 1998 - Saskatoon Trade Centre
The conference will be conducted by the Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy and the Canada West Foundation.
The purpose of the conference is for a cross-section of the Saskatchewan public to share information and generate new ideas about economic, social and fiscal policy issues.
About 150 delegates are expected to attend, including representatives of various business and community groups. All MLAs are being asked to send a citizen delegate.
The conference will combine plenary sessions with smaller group discussions to develop some short-term and longer-term recommendations on government financing and policies. The workshop sessions will deal with taxation, how Saskatchewan can deal with
global impacts on our economy and how to respond to social needs in the future.
The key note speakers and main events will be broadcast on SCN to ensure that everyone in the province has the opportunity to listen to the discussion.
Website (www.gov.sk.ca/future)
The website will include an interactive budget worksheet for individuals to develop the budget they think meets the needs of Saskatchewan people. It actually performs some of the calculations on the screen.
Most of the information from the pre-budget consultation paper, Balancing Our Future...
Together, and other information about the pre-budget consultation is on the site. Other information will be added to it over the next couple of months.
Users can fill out the on-line questionnaire and submit their comments immediately.
There is also an e-mail address to provide further comments.
(prebudget@govmail.gov.sk.ca)
Toll-free line (1-888-287-8868)
A toll-free line has been set-up to take calls from the people of Saskatchewan. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the month of November. Anyone can call this line to:
get a copy of the pre-budget consultation paper, the budget worksheet or the questionnaire; ask general questions about the pre-budget consultation;
ask for further information, such as a date or location, of a public discussion group;
get other information needed to make decisions and provide feedback about budget development.
