'Temporary deficit' one of the budget options: Sask. finance minister

Running a "temporary deficit" is one of the budget options the Saskatchewan government is looking atto cope with tough times, provincial Finance Minister Kevin Doherty says.

Doherty briefly discussed the possibility of a deficit Wednesday in an interview with CBC Radio's TheMorning Edition host Sheila Coles.

The oil revenues flowing into government coffers have been declining in recent years as the price of crude continues to fall.

Cutting spending or raising taxes are two of the possible responses, but so is running a deficit where spending exceeds revenues, Doherty said.

You can raise taxes, you can cut or make, you know,draconiancuts if you will in various spending departments across government to try to balance the budgetor have a temporary deficit.- Finance Minister Kevin Doherty

"When you're faced with those kinds of precipitous drops in revenue, you're faced with two or three choices," Doherty said.

"One is you can raise taxes, you can cut or make, you know, draconian cuts if you willin various spending departments across government to try to balance the budgetor have a temporary deficit."

The government has been meeting with chambers of commerce and other organizations to ask what their preferenceof the three is, he said.

"That's the kind of decision we'll have to take to the people of Saskatchewan as well," he said.

Typically, a provincial budget comes down in March, but this year, there won't be a one until after the April 2016 election.

Later, Opposition NDP critic Trent Wotherspoon said Doherty was offering Saskatchewan people a "bogus" set of options by saying it all boiled down to "draconian cuts," deficits or tax hikes. It's also wrong to wait until after the election to say what you want, he said.

"It's ludicrous to think that hiding the finances and their choices with our moneyis acceptable," Wotherspoon said in a news release.

To save money, the Sask. Party should cut spending on the the Lean program, their "American lobbyist", private consultants, cost overruns on the Regina bypass and government advertising, he said.

"There are a lot of savings to be found from that waste," Wotherspoon said.