The Saskatchewan government has approved more than $4.5 billion of its pre-pandemic spending plan that it laid out in March.
Dollars were deployed through a special warrant signed by the Lieutenant Governor, since the spending estimates didn’t pass before the Legislature adjourned amid the pandemic.
“With the Legislature currently in adjournment, there is no mechanism to approve the 2020-21 budget before the interim funding is depleted,” the Finance Ministry said in an email.
The 2020-21 estimates represent $14.15 billion in government expenses. The spending plan was crafted before COVID-19, and purposely didn’t include revenue due to the uncertainty of the pandemic.
Typically, special warrants are used in the short term, but “given the extraordinary circumstances” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a special warrant is in place until August, according to the Ministry of Finance.
It will provide “funding and some flexibility,” the ministry said.
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“Government is ensuring ministries have the funding they need, and will re-assess needs in the coming months, given the somewhat unpredictable times we’re in,” the ministry said.
However, finance critic Trent Wotherspoon and the Saskatchewan NDP are calling on the province to release a full budget that addresses the spending needs of COVID-19.
“This is a massive amount of money, but the government’s special warrant provides no clarity at all when it comes to how this money is to be spent,” Wotherspoon said.
“How much of this is for new COVID-19 spending? Where is it going? People deserve answers to these questions, and those answers should be provided in the Legislative Assembly.”
Wotherspoon said he understands the need for a special warrant to address financial needs effectively in the short term.
However, he said it’s time for the Legislative Assembly to resume.
“There’s no reason that we can’t have a proper budget that’s presented to the people of Saskatchewan with some function of democratic oversight, all recognizing that we need to do this in possibly a non-traditional way,” Wotherspoon said.
“We need to make sure dollars are deployed in a fair, fast and effective way.”
The government has not discussed when it will resume any legislative services, according to Premier Scott Moe.
“Quite simply all of our resources at this point and time have been focused on addressing the health care delivery of the COVID crisis,” Moe said. “That’s not to say there won’t be a discussion on whether we should, at some point, resume legislative sittings in some way shape or form or committee meetings in some way shape or form in the months ahead.”
“It is important work that occurs here, there’s important work that occurs at the committee level, there is a conversation there that likely will happen at some point in the days ahead,” Moe said.
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