REGINA – In announcing tweaks to the legislative calendar, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall made clear Monday there wouldn’t be a spring sitting and his government won’t present a 2016 budget.
Without that, the province’s true financial picture may not be clear until after people have cast their ballots in the election scheduled for April 4, 2016.
The first quarter financial update released on August 31 showed the province is falling nearly $400-million short of projections.
“(The Sask. Party) wanted to come into this election with a boom economy, and they’re just not,” said Jim Farney, a University of Regina political scientist.
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Farney says it could have meant unpopular decisions in tabling a budget, such as raising taxes or cutting services to avoid running a deficit, then campaigning on it.
“Rather than taking the risk on the bad news, ‘We’re so far ahead in the polls anyway, we’ll just play it safe.’ Late in the 4th quarter, up by two touchdowns, just punt the ball.”
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Wall says mid-term financial numbers will still be available around the end of November, so “voters will know where we’re at financially at that point.”
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