Voters will cast ballots in the Saskatoon Fairview byelection on Sept 7.

There are five candidates — Taylor Bolin, Vicki Mowat, David Prokopchuk, Shah Rukh and Cameron Scott — officially in the running for a provincial seat in the constituency after MLA Jennifer Campeau quit in June.

To help prepare, CBC Saskatoon is publishing responses from the five candidates on a different issue every day this week.

From racism to carbon pricing, we'll find out where the candidates stand on important issues facing Saskatchewan people.

Today, the candidates respond to a question about balancing the provincial budget.

Balancing the budget

Question: Saskatchewan is facing a shortfall of more than a billion dollars this year. What are three specific examples of ways you would bring the budget back to balance?

Candidate responses

Shah Rukh, Saskatchewan Liberals:

'We must encourage diverse manufacturing,' says Liberal candidate Shah Rukh. (Saskatchewan Liberals)

This is an interesting question. We all know that Sask. Party mismanagement got us into this jam in the first place — you don't put all your eggs into one basket.

As the owner of multiple businesses, and as a tax consultant, I can assure you that the thinking has to move away from politics and into a more compassionate reality. For example, the Sask. Party is trying to pull off this austerity budget in three years. At what cost?

As we know, those who are on fixed incomes, those who are vulnerable, those who need assistance the most have been cast aside and forgotten. To penalize, to forget, to think so little of the people working hard to survive in Saskatchewan shows just how heartless, inept and self-centred the Sask. Party is.

Secondly, we must encourage diverse manufacturing in our great province. We have much more to offer the world than oil and potash.

It's thinking like this that will allow Saskatchewan to become strong again — and make up for the Sask. Party's mismanagement of our boom years.

Third, we need to invest in education.

This is a long game, but the most profitable one yet. With an educated public, the opportunities for jobs in diverse industries become much broader, leading to more tax revenue — at a higher tax bracket.

This will help bring the deficit in line — not in three years, but in a much more significant way— that benefits all the people of Saskatchewan.

Cameron Scott, Saskatchewan Party:

Saskatchewan Party candidate Cameron Scott says the government is 'controlling costs and shifting taxation from income, growth and productivity toward taxes on consumption.' (Saskatchewan Party)

The first quarter financial update released on Aug. 25 shows that the Saskatchewan Party government is on track to meet this target of a deficit of $685 million — not over $1 billion.

Saskatchewan's revenues from non-renewable resources have fallen by more than $1.3 billion since 2014. Oil and gas, potash and uranium prices all fell at the same time, which drastically affected the province's fiscal capacity.

This is why the Saskatchewan Party government laid out a three-year plan to return to balance in the 2017-18 budget.

Across the country, other governments have taken a different approach and are borrowing heavily, hoping for resource revenues to recover.

The Saskatchewan Party decided to do things differently by controlling costs and shifting taxation from income, growth and productivity toward taxes on consumption — a shift that is supported by many economists.

The NDP and Ms. Mowat have understandably been vocal about the budget, but they haven't presented any kind of alternative plan.

They claim they want to reduce the deficit and balance the budget, but cry foul when difficult measures are taken.

They say "stop the cuts," but then don't offer a realistic plan to get the budget back to balance. It's typical of the NDP — lots of talk but no action.

There were difficult decisions made in this year's budget, and I have met people on the doorstep who have been affected by these decisions. But it is important, given the fiscal situation of the government, that costs were brought down and some savings were found, including reducing the salaries of all MLAs, ministers and political staff.

Taylor Bolin, Saskatchewan Green Party:

'Diversifying the economy would be one step in the right direction,' says Saskatchewan Green Party candidate Taylor Bolin. (Saskatchewan Green Party)

Saskatchewan finds itself in this situation because the government put too many of their eggs in one basket.

The province invested heavily and provided subsidies in certain extractive industries.

When these commodity prices were high, the government should have used some of that money to reinvest in developing other industries.

This was not the case, and when the commodity prices dropped significantly due to global fluctuations in the market, the Saskatchewan economy suffered for it.

Diversifying the economy would be one step in the right direction.

Injecting capital through investment in other industries could help kick-start the economy and help alleviate the deficit.

The tech industry and new developments in the renewable energy sector have made it possible for smaller markets to profit.

Saskatchewan has an abundance of well-educated people as well as a large labour force that is ready to work.

We should look to alternative industries and lead the way in creating new markets so we aren't so heavily dependent on commodities in the extractive sector.

Vicki Mowat, New Democratic Party:

'The Sask. Party should reverse their $100 million tax giveaway to corporations, the wealthy and well connected,' says NDP candidate Vicki Mowat. (Saskatchewan NDP)

There are three things the Sask. Party should look at cutting to help fill the billion-dollar hole that they've dug for themselves: their mismanagement, their scandal and their waste.

The Sask. Party spent more than $1.5 billion on their carbon capture boondoggle that has driven our power bills through the roof; their GTH land scandals saw $11 million paid out to landowners with Sask. Party connections; and they sat on their hands while the contract with a French company for the Regina bypass ballooned from $400 million to well over $2 billion dollars.

As a start, the Sask. Party should reverse their $100-million tax giveaway to corporations, the wealthy and well connected; they should implement their Green Tech Fund, which the Conference board of Canada has estimated could add billions to the economy; and they must stop the Sask. Party scandals which have already cost billions and could cost billions more if they continue to go unchecked.

But instead of cutting their wasteful spending and providing sound management to our province's finances, the Sask. Party is asking Saskatchewan families to pay the price with their heartless cuts, desperate sell-offs, and unfair tax hikes.

David Prokopchuk, Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan:

Progressive Conservative candidate David Prokopchuk says there needs to be a 'thorough in-depth examination of government spending.' (Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan)

We must examine costly projects such as the Global Transportation Hub, and see where savings can be had.

It will take a thorough in-depth examination of government spending to see what less-obvious areas this government has been spending money on.

We have long advocated getting rid of the health boards. Now, we must focus on paring down a bloated management hierarchy.

It will be a long process, starting with diversifying our economy, with an emphasis on new green technologies.

Having said this, the cuts to an education system already strained are unconscionable.

This is our very future. We cannot rob it to pay for today's mistakes.

This is the third of a five-part series by CBC Saskatoon ahead of the Saskatoon Fairview byelection on Sept.7. Each day CBC Saskatoon will publish one answer from each of the five candidates to a question regarding a pressing Saskatchewan issue.