REGINA - The opposition New Democrats shredded the Sask Party government’s budget on Wednesday, in every way.
At a media event at the Legislature, NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon took the printed contents of the 2025-26 budget and in front of the cameras he put them into a shredding machine.
The message from Wotherspoon was that the budget, with its $12 million projected surplus for 2025-26, had failed to take into account the tariff threat from President Donald Trump.
Wotherspoon again pointed to the lack of a dedicated contingency plan in the budget to address the impact — a move Premier Scott Moe and Finance Minister Jim Reiter have resisted on the grounds it would have to be deficit financed.
“We had a budget that was presented last week that denies the realities that we face in this province,” said Wotherspoon.
Wotherspoon said it “doesn’t incorporate or plan for any of the impacts of threats and tariffs on Saskatchewan’s economy, producers or workers… It doesn’t meet the moment, doesn’t reflect the reality that we face, certainly doesn’t focus on the future and really it’s not worth the paper that it’s printed on.”
Wotherspoon noted debate on the budget was still ongoing and a vote on it was planned for Thursday, when the Sask Party majority expects to pass it.
“But really there should be no vote,” Wotherspoon said. “The Premier needs to do the right thing and pull this budget and to send it through the shredder, and ultimately bring forward a budget that’s based on reality, focused on the future, and has the backstop that Saskatchewan people deserve.”
Wotherspoon’s media event came one day after word hit the Legislature that President Trump would be opening up Russian market access to ag and fertilizer, a move directly impacting Saskatchewan industry including potash. It also came on the same day that Trump was set to announce auto tariffs at a news conference at 2 p.m. Saskatchewan time.
When asked about this latest tariff threat Wotherspoon said Trump was “completely out of line.”
“We need to be pushing back in all the effective ways we can, standing together as a country, standing strong as Team Saskatchewan, all hands on deck. It’s completely reprehensible the way he is going about this, aligning with a dictator that’s committing atrocities beyond description while threatening an ally, both us economically as well as our sovereignty. It’s beyond the pale.”
Jim Reiter responds
In Question Period on Wednesday, Finance Minister Reiter lampooned the NDP media event.
"I heard before he was done the shredder quit working," Reiter said.
He added that it reminded him of the time that federal leader Jagmeet Singh "shredded the supply confidence agreement with the Trudeau government... only to tape it together the next day and continue to prop up the Liberal government."
"The only thing that's happening, Mr. Speaker, is its shredding NDP integrity themselves," Reiter said.
