"The use of an external audit is a political practice that is being used by various governments across Canada when they take power," said Ms. Thistle. "It enables a new government to paint a doom and gloom situation of provincial finances and give them justification for scraping election promises. Information on the province’s finances was readily available to government at no extra cost to the taxpayer when they took office. The Department of Finance and the Auditor General had this information and could have given government a realistic view of the province’s finances without spending an extra $110,000 of the taxpayers money to an outside firm. Our government was given a financial update in November that confirmed our budget predictions were on target.

"Government received the initial $110,000 external audit report in November, but decided that more information needed to be included before a final document would be released publicly. Why was this information not included in the original request? Did the initial audit confirm a deficit figure predicted by the Liberal government in March? Is this audit less independent than if it were completed by the Auditor General? There are too many questions that have not been answered by this government.

"This government has stated that they will be open and transparent, yet they have had possession of the initial audit report for over a month, and the final document for over two weeks. These reports should have been released in a more timely fashion. The fact that these documents have not been released sooner indicates that government is trying to use this process for their own political gain.

"Premier Williams will be giving a state of the province address on Monday night. I hope that the Premier will not use this event as a political soapbox to justify the reasons he will not fulfill blue book promises that he made in October. I caution Premier Williams to think carefully before he speaks on Monday night. The people of this province need improved services, not cutbacks and downsizing, an approach that seems to be the agenda of this government."