Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says India’s tariffs on Canadian lentils may increase upon landing in India for a trade mission with other Canadian delegates.

Speaking to reporters upon landing in Mumbai on Friday, Moe says he would “love to see” tariffs removed on pea, lentil and bean products — also known as pulses — before the end of the trip next week. However, he added that it wasn’t likely that all products would see tariff removals.

“I’ve heard some discussion that in the case of lentils that there’s some discussion that they might actually increase to some degree,” Moe said.

India currently has a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian lentils.

The country also placed a 30 per cent tariff on Canadian yellow peas in November to protect its local producers.

India is a major importer of Canadian pulses, accounting for over 50 per cent of all pulse imports from 2000 to 2020, according to Pulse Canada.

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Moe will be in India until next week and says he will be focusing on advancing trade with India on Saskatchewan staples like potash and uranium, alongside agriculture.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to actually advance that trade and not only into other products but into larger volumes of the products that we do,” he said.

Trade with India has been under fire as of late, with threats of foreign interference from the country an ongoing concern.

The day before Prime Minister Mark Carney’s official visit to Mumbai and New Delhi, a senior official said the government believed India was no longer plotting attacks on Canadians.

The official’s comments at a press background briefing were the first to suggest India had halted the clandestine operations that Canada has linked to a murder and other violence.

But Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree on Thursday would not fully agree with that statement when asked multiple times. Instead, Anandasangaree said there are outstanding issues about the safety and security of Canadians that are being worked out with India.

As for Moe, he wants to continue doing business with India despite the disagreements.

“It’s important to be at the table in those countries where we have differences, but also where we also have opportunities and points of agreement to be able to talk our way through potentially what those disagreements are,” he said.

The delegation will travel to New Delhi next week before heading to Australia and Japan.

Moe will not be joining the rest of the delegation on the trip beyond New Delhi and will instead stay back to attend the Raisina Dialogue conference in the city, he told reporters.

The Raisina Dialogue runs from March 5 to 7, meaning he will be overseas when Saskatchewan’s spring legislative sitting kicks off on Monday.

— with files from The Canadian Press

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Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says his government will table a deficit budget next month, citing economic uncertainty across the country as the reason for increased spending.

Turbulent trade relations between Canada and the United States, along with ongoing tariffs in China and India, are among the reasons Moe cites for the province’s revenue challenges.

“We are in a very challenging time financially, both nationally and at the provincial level. Provincial, sub-national, and national governments are faced with choices that they are going to have to make,” said Moe, speaking to reporters Tuesday following a luncheon speech held by North Saskatoon Business Association (NSBA).

Moe points to British Columbia’s recently-tabled budget — one that projects a $13.3 billion deficit — as evidence of the economic pressures provinces are currently facing, but adds that Saskatchewan’s deficit won’t be as significant.

“I don’t think you’re going to see anything like that, whether it be in the existing budget or in next year’s budget,” he said.

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Raising taxes is not in the cards for the province, said Moe, adding that his government is taking an approach of protecting services instead.

“We are going to make the choice to protect Saskatchewan services, whether that’s health care, whether it’s community safety and investing in keeping our Saskatchewan communities and families safe, as well as education, highways and such,” he said.

A renewed focus on improving health care is also on the table, with Moe saying his government will look into innovations in how health care is provided rather than join the debate over whether it is delivered privately or publicly.

Moe said his government will look into virtual health care innovations so that “everyone in the province does have access to a primary health care provider.”

The province’s Opposition is blasting the government’s latest spending, saying the debt is growing uncontrollably.

“It’s difficult to say what to expect, because frankly I don’t trust this government’s ability to bring a real budget forward or to deliver the full financial picture of the province,” said Carla Beck, Saskatchewan Opposition leader.

Last year, the province budgeted for a $12-million surplus, but this spiralled into the red when the province reported a $427-million deficit in its mid-year budget update in November.

Earlier this month, the province approved $654.7 million in spending through executive orders. The Opposition criticized this spending last week, saying it pushes the province’s deficit close to $1 billion.

Moe would not say whether the budget is approaching a $1 billion deficit and defended these special warrants, saying they are widely used by governments and are not new.

“The province utilizes special warrants, the federal government utilizes special warrants, and then it’s accounted for each and every quarter,” he said.

“If it wasn’t accounted for in the quarter of the reports, then we’d have a problem, but it is each and every time.”

Saskatchewan’s spring legislative session kicks off on March 2, with the budget expected to be tabled on March 18.

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