Unspent public funds raise questions

While concerns about homelessness and public safety continue to make headlines in Manitoba, the two government departments mainly responsible for addressing them came in under budget last year.

The 2025-26 public accounts, released Monday, show Housing, Addictions and Homelessness underspent its budget of $869 million by $18 million. Manitoba Justice underspent its budget of $994 million by $34 million.

The 247-page public accounts report attributes the underspending in justice mainly to “reduced impacts of contingency liabilities,” such as a court ruling or legal settlement.

The report did not explain how and why Housing, Addictions and Homelessness underspent its budget last year as the province addresses those critical issues.

Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith was not made available for an interview Tuesday, nor was Justice Minister Matt Wiebe.

Cabinet communications staff was asked why justice department money that wasn’t spent last year couldn’t have been put toward addressing a shortage of Crown prosecutors handling more cases and the shortage of judges that has forced the provincial court to cut the number of sittings in rural Manitoba.

A brief statement from the press secretary for Finance Minister Adrien Sala said underspending in justice “reflects a partial reversal of an accrued legal liability,” without offering any detail, and that Housing, Addictions and Homelessness’ underspending “reflects changes in capital timelines.”

Hearing the justice department left $34 million on the table last year “when there are obviously parts of the system crying out for more resources” is “interesting,” Ben Wickstrom, Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys vice-president (prosecutions) said Tuesday. He estimated hiring the 50 additional Crown attorneys MACA says are needed would probably cost one-third of that amount.

“I appreciate that the government’s position may be that this was budgeted somewhere else in the justice budget, but it’s really a question of priorities, and what their priorities are. It really hasn’t felt that the government’s priority has been on front-line resources for the courts, whether that be for judges, for crown prosecutors and for legal aid,” Wickstrom said.

“The underspending deserves an explanation,” Molly McCracken of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said Tuesday.

Manitoba has “very substantial unmet needs for affordable and supportive housing, homelessness services and addictions treatment,” the provincial director of the national think tank that advocates for greater income equality said.

“The explanation for the justice underspending doesn’t tell Manitobans whether this is money that could have been used to address pressures elsewhere in the justice system, such as Crown capacity and access to justice.”

The public accounts are the government’s official annual financial statements detailing the province’s revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities and overall financial position for the fiscal year ending March 31. On Monday, they reported Manitoba’s deficit of $832 million — a reduction from the $1.1 billion reported in 2024-25 and $1.95 billion in 2023-24.

Premier Wab Kinew said Monday the province is cutting the deficit and is on track to balance the books during his first term in office. To do that, he’ll need to find $832 million more in spending cuts and revenue growth to get rid of the deficit. Meanwhile, the province has to pay $2.3 billion a year to service its $36.5-billion debt.

McCracken cautioned the province against treating underspending as good fiscal management simply to help reduce the deficit or to offset other departments, such as health, spending more than budgeted.

“A balanced budget is not an end in itself. The Manitoba government’s job is to deliver the services Manitobans need,” she said.

The Tories’ housing, addictions and homelessness critic questioned the underspending.

“With the epidemic that we’re dealing with right now when it comes to crime, when it comes to drugs and addiction issues, one of my questions is how many treatment beds could we have done for $18 million?” Jeff Bereza said Tuesday.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time in a lot of the seniors places, including Manitoba Housing seniors places, where that money could have been used so much for repair,” the Portage la Prairie MLA said.

“We could have hired many more prosecutors or been in the queue to hire many more prosecutors,” he said of the unspent portion in the justice budget. “The people of Manitoba are scared. Whenever they talk about the drug or addiction issue or about crime and safety, it really is top of mind of I would say for all Manitobans.”

An online survey for CBC News by Abacus Data last month found almost six out of 10 people in Manitoba feel less safe now compared to four years ago.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca