Saskatoon and Regina both come out on the low end of the measuring stick when fiscal accountability is under scrutiny by the C.D. Howe Institute. In its survey for 2020, the institute says outdated practices make the budgets of too many Canadian cities impossible for non-experts to understand. The study gives Saskatoon a D- rating on its budget and financial statements. Regina fares only marginally better with a D.

And, it’s not like the upper grades are out of reach; Vancouver and Surrey B.C. both rate an A+ standing. Of 31 cities surveyed, Markham, Richmond, and York came in with As. Only three were in the Ds, including Kitchener at D+.

One of the problems identified in the report is the tendency for cities to generate budgets that are hard to understand. The report uses Saskatoon as an example of the problem that can arise when trying to calculate spending. It says, “Saskatoon’s 2019 budget showed $1.19 billion in spending. Its 2019 financial statements showed $0.82 billion in expenses. This gap is so large that an expert with time to spare might suspect it resulted from an accounting discrepancy and start to read the fine print – but a non-expert, struggling with financial reporting that we think merits a grade of D-, might think the city’s financial management is utterly inept.”

The report urges municipal governments to present budgets using the same public sector accounting standards and format they use in their year-end financial statements.