Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The deeper I delve into the 2014-15 budget, the more confused I become. Regular Members have been given huge amounts of information in the last two weeks and instead of clarity, it has only served to confuse. It didn’t have to be this way. The Finance Minister and Cabinet could have chosen to be fulsome, clear and concise in their meetings with Regular Members, but they have been anything but.
We’ve had briefings on the government’s fiscal strategy, on the budget before us, on the status of employee positions and each briefing obfuscates the financial picture a little further. Some of the numbers we have been given refer to the 2014-15 budget that we are now reviewing, some to the next budget, 2015-16. Sometimes we hear revenues are up. Sometimes we hear revenues are down. The Finance Minister, whether by accident or by design, has made communication from himself to Regular Members incomplete and vague. Again, it doesn’t have to be this way.
The Minister of Finance is a seasoned veteran of this legislative arena. He knows full well what information Regular Members want to hear, what we want to consider to fully understand the government financial position or situation. He knows full well how to present that information so it’s easily understood, yet he seems to choose to force us to draw it out of him one small piece at a time. The latest example was yesterday when Minister Miltenberger took my question as notice, effectively putting a lid on information that Members and the public should hear.
Mrs. Groenewegen spoke yesterday about what she considers to be our inefficient process. Any blame for that has to be laid at the feet of both Cabinet and Regular Members if it’s laid anywhere. A comprehensive and frank information sharing process would go a long way to creating efficiency. A little cooperation goes a long way.
I’m so frustrated with this latest budget information process that I am almost ready to give up my attempt at bringing some accountability to the budget review and to give in to Cabinet’s budget without a fight. If that’s the goal of the Finance Minister, then that goal has been achieved. The battle has been won, but the war is far from over. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
