Former Manitoba government presented ‘incomplete’ financial picture, report says
Posted February 23, 2024 4:10 pm.
A consultant’s report says the former Progressive Conservative government in Manitoba presented an incomplete picture of the province’s financial challenges in the months leading up to the Oct. 3 election.
The review by consulting firm MNP was ordered by the NDP government after the New Democrats won the election and says the deficit was much worse than expected.
It says the Tory government announced $200 million to hire more health workers last July but did not include the figure in its quarterly fiscal update issued the next day.
The review also says the former government’s expectations of a large profit from Manitoba Hydro, which turned into a deficit after a very dry summer, may not have been warranted.
Finance Minister Adrien Sala is accusing the Tories of misleading the public and making expensive promises in a bid for re-election.
The Tories have said they set aside hundreds of millions of dollars in contingency funds in the spring budget, which was to account for unexpected changes in revenue or spending.
