Minding the Public Purse

Janice MacKinnon became minister of Finance for the province of Saskatchewan in 1993, under NDP Premier Roy Romanow, just as the province became the first casualty of the debt and deficit crises that dominated both provincial and federal politics throughout the decade. Minding the Public Purse is a unique mixture of political memoir and policy analysis. An insider's account of how Saskatchewan avoided fiscal catastrophe, it reveals the dynamics of the federal-provincial finance ministers' meetings that saw the rise of Paul Martin and his radical transformation of Canada's finances. MacKinnon, Canada's first female finance minister, provides keen observations on how personalities and shared regional perspectives cut across party affiliations in the evolution of federal-provincial deliberations on managing the debt crisis. Although initially opposed to the radical cuts and downloading unilaterally imposed by the federal minister of Finance in his 1995 budget, she now argues that they were essential and analyses how they have irrevocably transformed the Canadian federation. MacKinnon provides a timely analysis of the implications of the fiscal crisis for the future of medicare and Canada's other social programs and shows why politicians must involve the Canadian public in an open and frank debate about the challenges and choices facing the nation.