An unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic became justification for the Saskatchewan Party government a year ago at this time to present a “budget” with no revenue side of the ledger.
To the credit of Premier Scott Moe and Finance Minister Donna Harpauer, their government did eventually present a more meaningful 2020-21 Saskatchewan budget in June, albeit one with a record $2.4-billion deficit (later reduced to a still-record $2 billion) during a truncated legislative sitting.
But since then, sitting days at the Saskatchewan legislature have been a rarity — just eight sitting days since the passage of the budget in early July and the Oct. 26 election. As such, Saskatchewan’s has become among the least democratically accountable legislatures in the country during this pandemic.