SASKATOON — Saskatoon Nutana MLA Erika Ritchie is hoping public pressure will help force the Saskatchewan Party-led provincial government to be accountable for what she described as its failure to manage provincial Crown finances properly.
Ritchie, the deputy chair of the Standing Committee on Crown and Central Agencies, said she has been demanding answers and information about these failures for years without success, accusing committee chair Doug Steele and the majority government of stonewalling her.
“They're refusing to schedule the committee to meet, so that legislative members, which include both sides of the [Legislature], have an opportunity to ask questions about the annual reports and the almost $3 billion in losses the past three years,” she said at a media event on Monday, Feb. 2.
The shadow minister for Crown Investments Corp. added that a power rate increase by SaskPower and an increase in SGI car premiums expected in a few months would further put financial strain on Saskatchewan residents and businesses.
“Let's be clear about why this is happening, especially at such a difficult time for families trying to make ends meet. It's because the Sask. Party has run the finances of our provincial Crowns into the ground. If this were the private sector, anyone responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in losses year after year would be forced to answer for it and likely be fired,” said Ritchie.
She said the public should continue to pressure and demand government accountability, with the committee reconvened to shed light on the issue, since Saskatchewan residents deserve clear explanations for rising rates, and called for changes to how Crown corporations are overseen.
Ritchie said that some questions, such as why certain investments were made and what financial pressures are driving higher rates, cannot be answered without committee hearings, even though numerous Crown documents have already been posted online and have yet to be reviewed.
She argued that without committee review, the public has been denied information on where taxpayers' money is going and why losses have continued to mount, highlighting provincial auditors’ findings last year that CIC and its subsidiaries have not had their annual reports reviewed by the standing committee.
SaskPower and SGI are among CIC’s subsidiaries, and the Saskatchewan NDP has repeatedly attempted to bring forward those annual reports for review, which the auditor describes as “key accountability” documents.
“That lack of oversight occurred as Crown debt rose by $2.8 billion over three years, covered by the three annual reports. The people of Saskatchewan deserve answers on where their money is going, but Scott Moe and his ministers are running scared,” said Ritchie.
“Three years of no accountability is just another example of the corruption and chaos taking place under Scott Moe’s so-called leadership. We need an accountable government, and the people of Saskatchewan deserve answers on where their money is going.”
SaskToday reached out to the government for comments, but hasn't received a response as of posting time.
