Saskatchewan finance minister says budget update coming by end of November

Saskatchewan Finance Minister Kevin Doherty says the government will release a mid-year budget update by the end of November.

Doherty told the legislature that the government didn’t release a first-quarter update because the April election pushed the budget back to June 1.

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He says that meant the budget passed and the first quarter ended on the same day – June 30.

READ MORE: Saskatchewan budget tanks on oil prices; deficit up to $427 million

Opposition NDP Leader Trent Wotherspoon accuses the government of hiding the true state of the province’s finances by not releasing a budget update.

The 2016-2017 budget projects a $434-million deficit.

The government is facing a revenue shortfall because of a drop in oil prices and the cost of fighting forest fires last summer.