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Saskatchewan legislature committee seeks to get to bottom of budget leak

A decision could come Monday on whether Saskatchewan's NDP will be punished for releasing facts and figures from last Wednesday's provincial budget before they were tabled in the legislature. Graphic / Global News

A decision could come Monday on whether Saskatchewan’s NDP will be punished for releasing facts and figures from last Wednesday’s provincial budget before they were tabled in the legislature.

The legislature’s Standing Committee on Privileges met Wednesday night to find out how the breach occurred when the party emailed a news release with budget details and reaction about an hour before it was tabled by the finance minister on June 1.

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The Opposition and media receive the document in advance, but must sign onto an embargo promising not to reveal information before it’s released.

READ MORE: Saskatchewan NDP could face sanction for leaking details of provincial budget

Questioned about the leak by SaskParty committee members, NDP finance critic Cathy Sproule said the party had an embargoed news conference on the budget, she approved an embargoed release and that was the extent of her involvement.

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Government house leader Ken Cheveldayoff won’t speculate on potential punishment, but has previously said that a media outlet was banned from advanced briefings for six months when it leaked budget details a few years ago.

Cheveldayoff did say Wednesday night that the government was correct in passing a motion to send the matter to the committee.

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