‘Choke on growth’: NDP calls on government to remove PST from Grain Millers Drive construction project

Opposition say PST on Yorkton construction drives up costs, totaling close to $500M yearly since 2017.

NDP MLA Aleana Young was in Yorkton early this week to call on Premier Scott Moe to take the six per cent provincial sales tax (PST) off the Grain Millers Drive construction project.

“Grain Millers Drive is a critical access point for several major agri-businesses and industries,” Moe said during the announcement last August.

During his visit to Yorkton, Moe revealed the province was providing 50 per cent of the funds to improve the vital transportation corridor near Yorkton’s canola crush plant, one of the largest in North America.

Eight years prior, in 2017, the provincial budget removed the PST exemption to construction labour. It also added an exemption to construction materials.

However, the PST applies to the Grain Millers Drive construction project, and the Saskatchewan NDP is now asking the government to remove the tax from the development.

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“Grain Millers Drive is a critical piece of economic infrastructure for growth in Yorkton and for ag sector beyond,” NDP MLA Aleana Young said, whose party has been criticizing the tax imposed on construction project.

“Whether it’s that hospital, whether it’s that water treatment plant, whether it’s Grain Millers Drive, taking the six per cent off of these projects ensures that the money stays here in the community instead of going directly into the Sask Party bank account,” Young said on Tuesday.

In a press release issued by the Saskatchewan NDP on Monday, the party said “[T]he tax cost builders an estimated $484 million every year, driving up the cost of building roads, houses, and infrastructure across Saskatchewan.”

“When we look at the six per cent on construction, it is a choke on growth,” the MLA told CTV News. “The definition of a job killing tax.”

In their response to CTV News, the provincial government said, that “[a] broad application of PST ensures that a fairly applied, reliable and sustainable source of revenue is available to fund the many public services provided by our government including grants to the municipal sector, infrastructure investment, healthcare and education.”