“Well, I think it's a very good budget for the province of Saskatchewan,” said Weyburn Big Muddy MLA, and Minister of Education, Dustin Duncan when asked for his thoughts on the provincial budget delivered Wednesday. “It invests in a number of key areas to ensure that we continue with the growth that works for everyone in this province, while at the same time preserving a billion dollar surplus that we can use to pay down debt in this province.“ 

The budget, which is for the 2023-24 fiscal year, includes a number of items specifically for the Weyburn area. This includes highway upgrades, re-opening the Court of King’s Bench, but perhaps most importantly, the announcement of $38 million for the new hospital in Weyburn. 

“I think everybody around town has kind of noticed that there’s fences that have gone up and they started to clear the snow, so it looked like something was imminent,” Duncan added. “We can now confirm it today that with the release of the budget, we are funding the first year of construction. We’re identifying and estimating that will be in that $38 million range, and so that is being funded as a part of this budget.” 

At the Weyburn Court House, $1.3 million dollars will be going to re-open the Court of King’s Bench. This will include the registry service in Weyburn, which will mean less travel for those who need to file, or pick up, documentation with the courts.  

There was also highway construction money included in the budget. 

Money was set aside specifically for the twinning of Highway 6 south of Regina near Rowatt, and at the Corinne Curve, where Highway 6 meets Highway 39. This is part of the work to build out passing lanes along the corridor from Regina to North Portal along Highways 6 and 39. There will also be some twinning work done in specific areas.