David Coon, MLA/Député

Mr. Speaker, this morning at a joint meeting of the Public Accounts and Crown Corporations Committees the AG told us that she was unable to tell us what the real numbers are for New Brunswick’s deficit because of the change made in accounting practices for pension funds, contrary to her advice and that of external experts. This is why she was unable to deliver a clean audit opinion on our books. Mr. Speaker, this is a scandal. When government is about to make major decisions about cutting services and increasing revenues to address our deficit, the AG says she can’t tell the people of this province what the real numbers are. The books suggest a deficit of $389 M, some ministers have claimed a deficit of $600 million. According to the AG we remain in the dark.