Province asking Lt.-Gov. to OK $369M 'special warrant'

An order in council was signed on Feb. 12 in which the provincial government asked the lieutenant-governor to sign off on a "special warrant" equalling $369 million.

A special warrant is a way for governments to obtain money when the Legislative Assembly isn't in session.

In the order in council, the province said special warrants are issued for items that are "urgently and immediately required for public good."

The money will be used to top up 11 different provincial ministries, including agriculture, education and environment.

The NDP wants the province to release a third quarter financial update. This will show where the money is going, as well as the true financial state of the province.

"This is a government that's on track to triple the provincial debt," wrote an NDP spokesperson. "From this special warrant it's unclear how much new spending has been committed to."

The province said about half of the special warrant money — $179 million — is actually a transfer of assets from the ministries of environment and government relations to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Association.

"In addition, $51 million of the special warrant for Health has no impact on the summary bottom line since it is intended to address various cash needs of the Saskatchewan Health Authority," wrote the province. "When you remove those two amounts, totalling $230 million, the special warrants that impact summary expense total $139 million."

The Government said the third quarter financial update will be included in the 2020-21 budget document.