Regina Mayor Sandra Masters says the new provincial budget is “stable and steady” in a time that otherwise isn’t.

Masters says she’s happy to see the province continue to invest in infrastructure, like long-term care homes in the city.

“I am very pleased in terms of the commitment of the replacement of Extendicare in Pioneer Village,” said Masters. “I think Covid highlighted serious infrastructure deficits relative to our senior citizen community, and so I’m really pleased with that.”

Masters says she is happy to see a majority of new spending go to healthcare and education, adding ensuring those systems are properly funded is critical during the pandemic.

“I think, again, Covid has highlighted how important healthcare is, and, sort of, some of the gaps, or needs in it,” said Masters. “And education this last year has been profoundly different for a lot of our students, and our kids, and focusing in on spending on that, seems to be the right approach.”

Masters says she’s not surprised to see the province carry a larger deficit than expected, adding the deficit is concerning long-term.

She says the province made the best of a bad situation.

“I think, in the short term, to have any sort of austerity budget would have been a mistake, given that we’re looking for economic recovery, not falling back or contracting the economy further.”

While she’s overall satisfied with the budget, she wishes more money was spent on harm reduction strategies in the province.