Sask. NDP calls for emergency legislative sitting over proposed rate hikes

Saskatchewan residents could soon face higher costs for car insurance and keeping the lights on with proposed rate hikes from SGI and SaskPower on the horizon.

To ease the burden on taxpayers, Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck on Monday called for an emergency legislative sitting in order to pass rent control measures and eliminate the PST on groceries and kids’ clothing.

Read more:

• LISTEN: Analyst says Maduro’s removal could affect Canada’s oil market and pipeline talks
• SGI applying to raise rates by 3.75% for 2026 and 2027 in first increase since 2014
• SaskPower bills going up 3.9 per cent in February to support ‘record capital investments’

“I was at the rink in Milestone and people were talking about how Christmas was leaner this year, how they had never really struggled and never really thought about how much Christmas dinner cost and all of a sudden they were worrying about it, there were fewer presents under the table,” Beck told reporters.

“People are pinched, and it’s incredibly frustrating that you have a government that stands up and boldly declares that this is the most affordable place in the country to live, but the reality for people is that’s not what they’re experiencing.”

SGI is applying to the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel to increase rates by 3.75 per cent in 2026, followed by another 3.75 per cent raise in 2027.

If approved, it would be implemented on an interim basis starting in June, but could be subject to a further review process.

SaskPower is requesting a 3.9 per cent increase from the panel that would kick in starting Feb. 1 and then another 3.9 per cent hike next year.

In December, the NDP accused the Government of Saskatchewan of trying to cover up “massive losses” for SaskPower while leaving taxpayers to foot the bill as the province approved more than $1 billion in additional funding to SaskPower.

At the time, Crown Investments Minister Jeremy Harrison said the province hadn’t considered whether this would result in a rate hike.

‘The most affordable province in Canada’

In a statement from Jeremy Harrison, Saskatchewan Minister of Crown Investments Corporation, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) and Saskatchewan Power Corporation, Harrison called Saskatchewan “the most affordable province in Canada.”

“And our government intends to keep it that way while ensuring the financial sustainability of our Crown corporations,” the statement read.

Harrison said SGI and SaskPower will be making applications for “modest and balanced rate increases to ensure the financial health of the Saskatchewan Auto Fund and allow us to continue to invest in the reliability of our power grid.”

Noting that SaskPower has not applied for a rate increase in more than three years, and application is SGI’s first since 2014 to ask for an increase, Harrison offered assurance that Saskatchewan will continue to offer residents the “second-lowest utility bundle in the country.”

He noted that the Saskatchewan Auto Fund, Saskatchewan’s self-sustaining compulsory auto insurance program which operates driver licensing and the vehicle registration system in the province, operates on a cost recovery basis.

Regarding SaskPower, Harrison noted cost-saving measures the province has undertaken both for residents through the removal of the federal carbon tax from the power bills of residents in the province, and long-term through the Saskatchewan First Energy Security Strategy and Supply Plan, which he said lays out the province’s plan to transition to nuclear power generation fuelled with Saskatchewan uranium.

With regards to the long-term power strategy, Harrison said: “Had we followed the unconstitutional path dictated by the federal government, that was supported by the Saskatchewan NDP, SaskPower would be forced to hike rates by over 100 per cent. We will simply not do that.”

Harrison referenced further provincial investments being made in the provincial power sector, including $600 million allocated to the Small Modular Reactor Fund and connecting the northern and southern power grids, while investing in transmission inter-ties with nearby jurisdictions.

“Our government will continue to prioritize reliability and affordability across our Crown corporations and keep doing everything we can to keep rates as low as possible,” Harrison said.

– With files from 980 CJME’s Libby Gray

Read more:

• LISTEN: Analyst says Maduro’s removal could affect Canada’s oil market and pipeline talks
• SGI applying to raise rates by 3.75% for 2026 and 2027 in first increase since 2014
• SaskPower bills going up 3.9 per cent in February to support ‘record capital investments’