Sask. gov’t denies hiding financial truth

INFORMATION WILL COME OUT WITH MARCH 22 BUDGET

Saskatchewan Finance Minister Kevin Doherty is taking umbrage with accusations that the government is hiding the truth about the province’s finances.

“Nobody’s lying about anything here,” he said Monday at the legislature.

“We are gathering the information (and) the information’s going to be presented on March 22 along with the budget, three weeks from this Wednesday.”

The third quarter ended in December and Opposition finance critic Cathy Sproule said the government should have released a budget update by now.

Sproule said fresh numbers would provide a clear picture instead of speculation about an estimated $1.2-billion deficit.

“For Saskatchewan families and workers, times are tough, but, instead of providing honesty and stability, the Sask. Party keeps lying about the facts and throwing around phrases like ‘transformational change’ and ‘everything is on the table,’” Sproule said in Saskatoon. “The people of the province deserve to know the truth.”

The NDP said third-quarter updates have been released in February since 2012, with the exception of 2015, when the government didn’t release one because it was changing the way finances are reported.

The government used to report the budget on its general revenue fund, which was just the government’s operating expenses and revenues.

It switched to what is called a summary basis, which includes all parts of government and Crown corporations, and was recommended by the provincial auditor.

Doherty said that’s one reason why it takes more time to pull the numbers together.

“It’s just not ready yet. Nobody’s hiding anything. If the numbers were ready to be released, we would release it tomorrow.”

The NDP raised similar concerns last summer when the government did not release a firstquarter budget update.

Doherty said last September that the fiscal year was unusual because of the provincial election last April and the timing of the budget. The government tabled the budget in June instead of March. That meant the budget passed and the first quarter ended the same day, so the numbers the public saw June 1 were essentially firstquarter numbers, he said.