Responsible debt reduction

Not that it should come as any surprise, but word came out today that the Saskatchewan's finances are in great shape:

Auditor Fred Wendel says in his fall report that the government made $844 million dollars more than it spent for the fiscal year ending last March.

It's the largest annual surplus since 1991.

The result was that the government could reduce it's (sic) net debt from $9.3 billion to $8.5 billion dollars.

There's a good ways to go in paying down the debt, but taking care of over 9% of it in one year makes a substantial difference. And unlike some neighbouring provinces, Saskatchewan's fiscal health hasn't come at the expense of social well-being.

Of course, Calvert and company can't get much credit for high gas prices. But the NDP deserves plenty of credit for running the province responsibly when prices weren't so favourable, and it's reaping the rewards this year. Based on the combination of even higher resource prices and a great agricultural season, the province should be able to put an even bigger dent in the debt over the next year.