REGINA – Premier Brad Wall says Saskatchewan’s finance minister was talking about options governments face when they’re short revenue when he used the phrase “draconian cuts.”
Finance Minister Kevin Doherty told a Regina radio program Wednesday that governments have two or three choices when faced with drops in revenue.
Doherty said they include raising taxes, making draconian cuts in spending or running a deficit – choices the province is looking at as it tries to balance the budget.
“We are short of revenue to be sure, with respect to the price of oil, and so those are choices that are before the province today,” Wall said Wednesday at the legislature.
“They’re before other jurisdictions right now faced with the economic situation we’re facing.”
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The premier said the government will lay out a plan for its finances in coming weeks and none of the options is preferred.
“We’d rather not be making any of those choices.”
It’s been a difficult year for Saskatchewan’s bottom line – a drop in the price of oil has erased about $500 million in revenue. A budget update released in November showed the province is projecting a deficit of $262 million compared with a surplus of just over $100 million that was forecast in March.
NDP Opposition Leader Cam Broten said the government needs to tell people what to expect before the provincial election April 4.
“This government absolutely needs to be clearer with Saskatchewan people about what the plan is, what cuts we will see and what its plan will be to address the situation,” said Broten.
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