CONTENTS
Standing Committee on Crown and
Central Agencies
Bill
No. 25 — The Income Tax (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act, 2025
THIRTIETH
LEGISLATURE
of
the
Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
STANDING
COMMITTEE ON
Hansard Verbatim Report
No.
9 — Monday, November 24, 2025
Chair
Steele: — Okay, welcome everyone to the
Standing Committee on Crown and Central Agencies. I’m Doug Steele; I’m the
Chair. Chris Beaudry is here; Terri Bromm is here; Brad Crassweller
is here; Don McBean is here; Jordan McPhail; and we have a substitution for
Erika Ritchie, is Trent Wotherspoon. Okay.
Okay, I’d like to table the following
documents. Okay, here we go: CCA 8‑30, Crown
Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan: Report of public losses, January 1st,
2025 to March 31st, 2025; CCA 9‑30,
Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority: Responses to questions raised at the
May 6th, 2025 meeting; CCA 10‑30, Crown
Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan: Report of public losses, April 1st,
2025 to June 30th, 2025; CCA 11‑30, Crown
Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan: 2024‑25 CIC and subsidiary
Crowns payee disclosure report; CCA 12‑30,
Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan: Report of public losses, 1st,
2025 to September 30th 2025.
I would like to advise the committee
that pursuant to rule 145(1), the following documents were committed to our
committee: Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan: 2024‑25 annual
report and CIC Asset Management Inc. financial statements for the year ended
March 31st, 2025; Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation: 2024‑25 Saskatchewan
Gaming Corporation financial statements and SGC
Holdings Inc. financial statements for year ended March 31st, 2025; Lotteries
and Gaming Saskatchewan Corporation: 2024‑25 annual report and LGS
Holdings Inc. financial statements for the year ended March 31st, 2025; SaskEnergy: 2024‑25 annual report; SaskEnergy: 2024‑25 SaskEnergy
Incorporated and subsidiaries financial statements; Saskatchewan Government
Insurance Superannuation Plan: 2024 annual report; SGI Canada: 2024‑25
annual report; Saskatchewan Auto Fund: 2024‑25 annual report; SGI Canada
Insurance Services Ltd.: 2024 annual report; Coachman Insurance Company: 2024
annual report; Saskatchewan Power Corporation: 2024‑25 annual report;
NorthPoint Energy Solutions Inc.: 2024‑25 financial report; Power
Corporation superannuation plan: 2024 annual report; SaskTel: 2024‑25
annual report; Saskatchewan Telecommunications financial statement for the year
ending March 31st, 2025; Saskatchewan Telecommunications International Inc.:
Financial statement for the year end March 31st, 2025; Saskatchewan
Telecommunications pension plan: Annual report for the year ending March 31st,
2025; Saskatchewan Water Corporation: 2024‑25 annual report.
The following Provincial Auditor’s
chapters have also been committed to the committee: 2024 report volume 2,
chapter 14 “SaskPower — Transitioning to Low and Non-emitting Energy Sources”;
2025 report volume 1, chapter 20 “SaskPower — Planning the Shut Down and
Decommissioning of Boundary Dam.”
Committee members, earlier this spring
the committee met to consider a list of recommendations for the candidates for
the audit committee of Saskatchewan. We have received new correspondence from
the Standing Committee on Public Accounts relating to the recommendations on
the additional candidate.
Committee members, do we need to go into
camera to discuss the nominee? No? Seeing none. Okay. Okay, here we go. So
that’s fine. We’re not doing that. I will now ask a member to move that we
concur with the recommended candidate. I recognize MLA [Member of the
Legislative Assembly] Crassweller.
Brad Crassweller:
— Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’ll move the motion here:
That the Standing
Committee on Crown and Central Agencies concur with the candidate selected by
the Standing Committee on Public Accounts to serve on the audit committee of
Saskatchewan; and
That the Chair send
a letter confirming agreement with the selection of the candidate.
Chair
Steele: — MLA Crassweller
has moved:
That the Standing
Committee on Crown and Central Agencies concur with the candidate selected by
the Standing Committee on the Public Accounts to serve on the audit committee
of Saskatchewan; and
That the Chair send
a letter confirming agreement with the selection of the candidate.
Is this motion agreed to?
Some
Hon. Members: — Agreed.
Chair
Steele: — Agreed? Thank you. Carried.
Bill No. 25 — The Income Tax
(Miscellaneous) Amendment Act, 2025
Clause 1
Chair
Steele: — At this time, we will move on to the
rest of the business on the agenda. Today the committee will be considering
Bill No. 25, The Income Tax (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act, 2025.
We will begin on the consideration with clause 1, short title.
Minister Reiter is here with his
officials. As a reminder to the officials, please state your name for records
before speaking and please do not touch the microphones. The Hansard operator
will turn them on and off for you as you speak.
Minister Reiter, please introduce your
officials and make your opening comments.
Hon. Jim
Reiter: —
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have with me today Max Hendricks, who is the deputy
minister of Finance; and also Sheri Lucas, who is the executive director of the
fiscal policy branch.
I’ll just quickly read some opening
comments into the record, and then we’ll go to questions.
Mr. Chair, these proposed amendments
support the delivery of the key election platform commitment, a new initiative
that was announced in our ’25‑26 provincial budget. The changes further
reflect our government’s continued focus on making life more affordable for
families. They ensure that our tax system remains aligned with the Canada
Revenue Agency administrative requirements.
This initiative is a significant step to
support those individuals and families in Saskatchewan who are facing the
challenges of infertility. This credit will cover 50 per cent of eligible
fertility treatment costs and related prescription drugs up to a maximum
benefit of $10,000 per individual. This tax credit is fully refundable, meaning
anyone can claim its benefits regardless of their income level.
And with that, Mr. Chair, we’d be happy to take any questions.
Chair Steele: — Thank you, Minister. I now open the floor to
questions. MLA Wotherspoon.
Trent
Wotherspoon: — Thanks very
much, Mr. Chair. Thanks, Minister, and officials for your time here today.
Appreciate as well the chance to have been briefed by officials in advance of
this.
So we have a
pretty decent understanding of the technical changes that are needed to make
sure . . . My understanding is that Canada Revenue Agency was looking
to make sure that it was properly cited in the legislation that this refundable
tax credit was payable by the CRA [Canada Revenue Agency] or the Government of
Canada. Can the minister or officials speak to that?
[16:15]
Max Hendricks:
— Max Hendricks, deputy minister. So you’re correct. When this was passed as a
bill in the spring of 2025, we worked very closely with the CRA to make sure
that we had the appropriate legislation, that our legislation covered all the
bases in terms of them providing a credit.
What we learned later on subsequent
review by the CRA more recently was that they didn’t feel that they had the
legal basis to issue a refundable tax credit unless we amended our current
legislation. And so we’ve introduced this amendment so that families in
Saskatchewan who utilize this benefit can receive a refundable tax credit.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
Thank you. And thanks again for the briefing on this front. It’s pretty
straightforward why this is needed. Certainly as the official opposition we’ve
advocated for fertility coverage, for treatments to be covered, for a long
period of time. Pushed for that, advocated for it, so we’re pleased to see this
advance.
And certainly we wouldn’t want to stand
in the way of making sure that when moms go forward or parents go forward to
file their taxes in the upcoming tax year, that they’d be prevented from being
able to claim this tax credit. So as I said then, we want to fully co-operate
to see this legislation pass, to make sure that that benefit is provided.
Can you just touch on . . .
There’s I think a couple other aspects of this legislation that were identified
that’d be more of a housekeeping nature, I think matters around bankruptcy and
residency and death. Could you just speak to those pieces?
Sheri Lucas:
— Sheri Lucas, executive director. Mr. Chair, in response to the question,
there were three additional circumstances that, as we were writing income tax
legislation, that the CRA puts the lens on. One has to do with bankruptcy, one
has to do with death, and one has to do with residency.
And so because of two things, the
refundable nature of the credit and as well the fact that this is a provincial
credit, for those reasons every time you go through the amendments, CRA says
for specific interpretations make sure there’s clarification what to do in the
event of a bankruptcy, in the event of death, and in the event of a change in
residency.
So there’s some very cumbersome, wordy
inclusions in there that are housekeeping as a matter of standard practice for
when they’re drafting their legislation.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
That’s really it for me. We had a good briefing there before. We support this
legislation. Like as I said off the top to the minister, we’ve advocated, as he
knows, for a long time on this front. We’re hopeful that he might take us up on
a few of our other good ideas and cut some of the other costs for families. But
on this front we certainly want to co-operate in an expeditious way to make
sure that parents, those eligible, are able to make that claim in the current
upcoming tax year.
Chair
Steele: — Thank you, Mr. Wotherspoon. Seeing
no more, we will proceed to voting on the clauses then. Clause 1, short title,
is this agreed?
Some
Hon. Members: — Agreed.
Chair
Steele: — Okay. That’s agreed.
[Clause 1 agreed to.]
[Clauses 2 to 8 inclusive agreed to.]
Chair
Steele: — His Majesty, by and with the advice
and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, enacts as follows: The
Income Tax Amendment Act, 2025.
I would ask a member to move that we
report Bill No. 25, The Income Tax Act, amended Act, 2025 without
amendment. Terri. Terri Bromm. Moved. Is that agreed?
Some
Hon. Members: — Agreed.
Chair
Steele: — Carried. That concludes our business
for today. I would ask all the members to move a motion of adjournment.
Hon. Jim
Reiter: —
Okay. Thanks, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to thank MLA Wotherspoon and all
opposition members for their co-operation with this bill. Thank you. It’s much
appreciated. I’d like to thank all committee members for their time, and indeed
all the officials for their time and support. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Chair
Steele: — Thank you. Closing remarks? Mr.
Wotherspoon.
Trent
Wotherspoon: —
Thanks to you, Mr. Chair, for a well-run meeting. And thank you to the minister
and the officials for their time here today, and to the officials for the
briefing, the technical briefing a while back. It really helps us have a clear
understanding about what we were dealing with. So thank you very much.
Chair
Steele: — Okay. That concludes our business
for the day. I would ask a member to move the motion of adjournment. Chris.
Agreed? Carried. This committee stands adjourned to the call of the Chair.
[The committee adjourned at 16:22.]
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