Trudeau in Saskatoon promoting recent budget announcements

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Saskatoon Tuesday touting $5 billion in loan guarantees for Indigenous communities wanting to get ownership of natural resources and energy projects.

The funding,announced last week in the 2024 federal budget, is meant to provide cheaper capital to First Nations communities looking to have ownership stakes in such projects.

During an event at Wanuskewin Heritage Park just outside Saskatoon, Trudeau said his Liberal government will also spend millions to support Indigenous communities getting better housing and health-care. This includes $390 million for renovating health-care facilities, including the Virtual Health Hub led by the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies.

Whitecap Dakota First Nation Chief Darcy Bear was also at the event. He said the virtual health hub will help make health care more efficient and effective.

"I'll give you an example. The Park Ridge Care Home Centre here in Saskatoon has a pilot project there and they would have sent 56 people to the emergency room, but because of the technology we have, they only sent eight people to the emergency room," he said.

He said he's proud the project is led by Indigenous people.

WATCH|Trudeau says Sask. families to get full rebate, even without paying carbon tax on home heating:

Trudeau says Sask. families to get full rebate, even without paying carbon tax on home heating

14 days ago

Duration 2:13

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Saskatoon on Tuesday that Saskatchewan families would receive carbon tax rebates. The provincial government stopped collecting the carbon tax on home heating from residents after the federal government gave an exemption on home heating oil that largely helped Atlantic Canada.

The budget also included $918 million in funding for housing and infrastructure on Indigenous communities and $388 million for Indigenous entrepreneurs and tourism.

He also trumpeted nearly $243 million for First Nations university, college and post-secondary students, which builds on $487.5 million over 10 years for Inuit and Mtis post-secondary education strategies from Budget 2019.