NDP finance critic Trent Wotherspoon and Finance Minister Donna Harpauer are bickering over the financial position that Saskatchewan is in.
Wotherspoon says Saskatchewan people deserve answers over what is happening in the wake of Moody’s Investment Bond Services delivered a downgrade to the province’s credit rating.
In the letter, Wotherspoon asks Harpauer what impact this will have on Saskatchewan people and what measures will be taken to pay for the increased debt costs wondering if it will be cuts, selloffs or tax hikes.
He says the downgrade continues a disturbing trend.
“This isn’t a consequence of what has been caused by COVID.” Wotherspoon said. “We see a continuation of downgrades over the past few years which is the direct consequence of a government that couldn’t manage the finances and balance the books during the boom years and then mismanage some projects like the Regina Bypass and the GTH which resulted in millions of dollars added to our debt. We want transparency and accountability as to how the government is going to deal with it.
The letter drew a quick response from Donna Harpauer as she sent a response .
In that response. Harpauer informs Wotherspoon that Saskatchewan continues to have the second highest provincial credit rating in Canada from Moody’s and all three major credit rating agencies trailing only British Columbia.
She also takes time to tell Wotherspoon she is disappointed with the political tone of his letter saying it is difficult to take his question seriously when the NDP never achieved the high levelof credit rating while in government and would have driven the debt up by at least four billion dollars if they had formed government and been held accountable to promises made.
