Saskatchewan’s premier is supportive of a newly announced federal sovereign wealth fund but says Ottawa must continue building a regulatory environment that brings investment and economic development. “We would say that this is a good initiative for our nation, largely, but it is [just] an initiative,” Premier Scott Moe told reporters in Regina on Monday. “… To achieve those aspirations that the Prime Minister has, we’re going to have to continue to work together to ensure there’s a regulatory environment to attract that private sector investment.” The project, dubbed the “Canada Strong Fund” was announced Monday by Prime Minister Mark Carney. A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that uses government surplus reserves to invest in financial assets like stocks and bonds but is independently managed. Alberta has operated its own sovereign wealth fund since 1976. Canadians with extra money to spare can invest into the fund directly – similar to a government bond. The federal government will invest $25 billion into the fund. The prime minister said the fund will be used in part to complement and accelerate projects of national interest. Moe argued that the federal government should focus on removing regulations such as the carbon tax, the Impact Assessment Act and oil tanker ban along B.C.’s north coast. “If we are going to achieve Canada becoming an energy superpower and having the strongest economy in the G7 we are going to have to, in the short term, run as many of those projects through the major projects office as we can and in the medium term, we’re going to have to do the hard work in changing those bills,” he said. Moe did note there has been discussion in Saskatchewan to establish its own sovereign wealth fund, but those plans have been hampered by a string of deficit budgets. The premier added it’s a factor the federal government must take into account, as it has continued to report increasing deficits. “The broader thought of having a sovereign wealth fund, I think is a good discussion to have,” the premier said. " … if it’s going to truly be effective and be able to apply dollars into it that are not coming from being loaned from a bank or an institution, you’re only going to do that through the growth of your economy." With files from Stephanie Ha
