Saskatchewan Envy?

Manitobans who are concerned about the provincial NDP government’s decision to tear up the balanced budget law and run deficits for the next four years may be looking to our neighbors in Saskatchewan with a degree of envy.

The day after Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger announced that he plans to increase spending by 5.3% this year and run a half billion dollar deficit, the Saskatchewan Party brought down its budget. Instead of buying the traditional new pair of shoes for the budget, Saskatchewan Finance Minister, Rod Gantefoer, purchased a new belt as an indication that his government understood what needed to be done in terms of controlling spending.

Instead of the massive jump in spending Manitoba’s NDP government announced, Saskatchewan brought forward a budget that increases spending only 0.001 per cent over the previous year. The Saskatchewan government recognized, as most families do, that when times are a little tougher, you need to find a way to be innovative and efficient.

During the budget speech in Manitoba, the NDP said that their top spending priority would be for services. That wasn’t exactly the truth. A closer look at the budget documents shows that the largest increase in spending in this year’s budget is a result of paying interest on our growing debt. Debt servicing costs are going up 10.7% this year over last and as interest rates increase that cost is only going to go up as well.

As a result of the increasing debt, the amount that is owed by each Manitoban is also going up rapidly. In 1999, each Manitoban owed $11,816 of the province’s debt while today that number stands at $19,056.

Remember also that Manitoba’s record debt under the NDP government has come at a time when transfer payments from Ottawa have increased dramatically. While federal transfer payments from Ottawa to Manitoba were $1.693 billion in 1999, they stand at $3.751 billion today. Manitoba’s NDP government doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.

It is clear that important services and projects that impact Manitobans well being need to proceed. What is less clear is why the NDP government is spending literally billions of dollars on projects that are either wasteful or which have been poorly considered. This would include building a new hydro transmission line down the west side of the province when an eastern route is shorter, safer, cheaper and more environmentally friendly. It also includes the NDP’s decision to loan $260 million to a California based company to build a wind farm in Manitoba because no company would agree to do it with private money only.

When it comes to foolish and wasteful spending, Manitoba’s NDP government is simply out of control while Saskatchewan is making many green with envy.