REGINA – The Sask. Party government is under attack for how much it spends on outside consultants to help build highways.
The Opposition NDP used the crumbling highways 220 and 322, north of Regina, to show Saskatchewan is way behind on highway maintenance.
Numbers provided by the NDP through a freedom-of-information request show consultant use has gone up 400 per cent over the last six years; spending on consultants by the highways ministry was just $12 million in 2008-09 compared to $61 million in 2013-14.
“We want to (see) where the 400 per cent is being used.”
In question period Tuesday, NDP highways critic Buckley Belanger asked the government to prove how many extra roads are being built with the extra consultants.
“We’ve been building interchanges, we’ve been building overpasses (for years),” said NDP highways critic Buckley Belanger. “We want to (see) where the 400 per cent is being used.”
Belanger said the government’s response to his concerns was “dismissive.”
Highways Minister Nancy Heppner said she is confident the increase in consultant use is “appropriate” given the level of work being completed.
“We’ve spent $1 billion more on highway infrastructure in our eight years than the NDP did in 16 years and that is going to translate to increased costs as well,” Heppner said.
The NDP said 2008-09 consultant spending was just three per cent of the overall highways budget, but it jumped to nine per cent in 2013-14.
In 2014, the provincial auditor criticized the government for increased consultant use that couldn’t be justified.
Comments