The provincial NDP is accusing the Sask. Party government of being allergic to transparency and using loopholes to avoid sharing documents requested through the Freedom of Information process.

The NDP state that the report that shows how many doctors and specialists are working in Saskatchewan is usually tabled and published online by December, but this year the Moe government is withholding the report until May.

The Opposition requested the information through an FOI, but they claim the Moe government denied the request, choosing to bury it until after the session is over.

The NDP say they also submitted an FOI request for the third quarter financial report, which used to be released in February or early March. The Opposition claims the Ministry of Finance refused to release this report too, using a loophole in FOI law that enables the government to withhold the document if they plan to publish it in the future.

Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon says the government needs to come clean about the true state of the province’s finances, as the budget has gone from a billion-dollar surplus at budget time to a quarter-billion-dollar deficit at mid-year.