NDP accuses Sask. government of $400M 'clever trick' to lower deficit

The Saskatchewan NDP is accusing the provincial government of using a "clever trick" to help make the deficit look better.

It has to do with the pension accrual adjustment (PAA), a measurement of future pension liability.

When the 2018-19 budget was revealed Tuesday, the pension adjustment was included as part of the province's expenses for the first time in three years.

This wasn't the case from 2015-16 up until the third quarter of 2017-18.

In this year's budget the PAA was counted as $393.2 million to the positive. The NDP says by putting that toward the calculation, the government cut its deficit projection in half from more than $750 million to $365 million.

"I just think it's a clever trick for the government to start using it now when it's to their benefit," NDP finance critic Cathy Sproule said.

"I absolutely do think this was a maneuver by the government to make the budget look better."

For example, Sproule said if the province had included the PAA in the 2015-16 budget things would have looked much worse.

"It would have been greatly to their detriment in 2015-16, about $800 million they would have had to add to the bottom line for the deficit."

Minister defends switch

Minister of Finance Donna Harpauer said the NDP knew the switch was coming, saw the adjustment in the third quarter update in March and did not object.

"She (Sproule) has called for us to do this, now that we've done it she wants to criticize," Harpauer said.

In the past, the pension adjustment was displayed on a single line in the budget and appeared in year-end audited financial statements.

"It was in the document, it wasn't in the calculation," Harapuer said.

She said the change is consistent with how other provinces treat pension adjustments.

As to why the province did not include the calculation for the past three years, Harpauer said that was under a previous premier and finance minister.

The simpler the better, says Sask. auditor

Provincial auditor Judy Ferguson said the province has always included the pension adjustment in its summary budget but it was always in a few different places.

Ferguson said the changes in this 2018-19 budget are "simpler for people to understand and if it's simpler that's good."

In 2013, the auditor made 11 recommendations for the province to modernize its financial reporting, one of which included presenting a single summary budget. The province implemented the recommendation the following year.

Ferguson said that when it came to where the government includes the pension adjustment "consistency is important."