The Saskatchewan NDP considers the government’s first quarter financial report a “grossly inadequate” smokescreen.
Finance critic Trent Wotherspoon considers this a pre-election report with rosy numbers, and wonders if the deep cuts would come afterwards, if elected.
He suggests these numbers should have been presented as part of the delayed budget in June, and because they weren’t they official opposition had no chance to demand answers about the plans for austerity.
Wotherspoon says this only emphasizes the NDP’s case for recalling the Legislature in September to provide oversight .
He committed that an NDP government would improve transparency for the province’s finances, by legislating a requirement for the independent Provincial Auditor to sign off on financial reports unveiled before an election.