Saskatchewan Finance Minister Ken Krawetz tabled his fifth and possibly his final budget on March 18, which academics and students say follows the path of austerity mapped out in the last two.
The government cited low oil prices and population growth as main reasons for controlling operating spending that is up only 1.2 per cent over last year’s budget, despite forecasting a surplus of $107 million.
Saskatchewan’s technical institutes and federated colleges will see an increase of 2 per cent in operating spending, while funding for all universities will increase by only 1 per cent.
The provincial budget also holds back $14.7 million from the University of Saskatchewan’s operating grant as a “one-time fiscal restraint measure.” The university has agreed to use $20 million from its reserve funds to weather the cut back.
“The $20 million the university is handing back to the government will help balance their books, but it has to be understood in a context of several years of underinvestment that have already happened,” said Jim Cheesman, spokesperson for the University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association. “To keep pace with real institutional inflation of about 4 per cent, this represents a significant cut.”
He says he’s also concerned the $20 million hit to ease the strain on provincial coffers could set a precedent for future funding transfers to post-secondary institutions showing operating savings. “We hope this will not be the case, because it would be an infringement on the institution’s autonomy
to plan and carry out its academic priorities,” Cheesman said.
Post-secondary students are speculating the multimillion-dollar shortfall from the province will leave them paying more for their education. For instance, the University of Saskatchewan received a two per cent funding allocation last year and ended up increasing tuition fees by 4.5 per cent.
Devon Peters, the president of the University of Regina student union, said it’s unclear what the impact of this year’s budget will be over the coming year as class sizes are ballooning and tuition fees are already at an all-time high.
The province also expects to save more than $33 million by changing the program aimed at keeping graduates in Saskatchewan from a refundable to a non-refundable tax credit, which Peters calls a regressive move.
“The change will only benefit those who need the graduate retention program the least,” he said. “Many recent graduates and graduate students will not earn enough to claim the full tax credits as they did previously. It also undermines the purpose of the program as those who would have considered staying in Saskatchewan to pursue further studies may now opt to move to another province.”