Premier Sandy Silver defended his budget to the media following his address on Thursday afternoon, countering opposition party criticism that the fiscal blueprint’s projected surplus relies on last-minute federal payments and leaves vulnerable communities behind.

“The budget tabled today builds on our recent progress and, once again, puts Yukoners first,” Silver said.

The premier touted his administration’s efforts to “rein in government spending” and bring the budget back into the black. The document projects a $4.1-million surplus, compared to the near-$19 million deficit reported for 2019-20.

He noted his government has been working for several years to develop a sustainable budget, in part by keeping public service jobs down to a “reasonable number.”

The surplus of $4.1 million is a slim buffer.

Last year, the government projected a deficit of $6 million, and the actual deficit at the end of this fiscal year will be three times that number.

Silver was asked whether he’s optimistic that this projection would be more accurate than last year’s.

He said he prefers not to speculate, but noted that the surplus comes a full year before his previous promise of balanced accounts by 2021-22.

The discrepancy in the deficit last year can be attributed to the worse-than-anticipated wildfire season and renovations to the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter.

The allocated $16 million for fire management was blown out of the water, actually costing the government close to $40 million.

The emergency shelter accounts, in part, for the government’s Housing and Community Outreach expenses ballooning from $1.9 million to an actual $4.3 million.

Silver said the increase in fire management budgeting to $21.6 million this year will fund preventative measures.

Stacey Hassard, the interim leader of the official Opposition, told media the Liberals should be thanking the federal government, rather than each other, for their sudden emergence into the black.

“If you read the fine print in the budget documents, the only reason there’s a surplus, a small surplus, is because the federal government came through in excess of $25 million at the last moment,” Hassard said.

“It’s unfair to say this government has been fiscally responsible, and produced a surplus, when they haven’t changed their spending at all.”

Hassard said he had high hopes for the government’s five-year capital plan, which he called a “great idea” when it was introduced by the Liberals.

The capital plan provided Thursday, however, doesn’t provide enough “real, accurate information to Yukoners,” Hassard said.

He accused the reigning government of being historically inaccurate in its budgeting, necessitating a legislative debate on supplementary numbers to last year’s budget.

“We now have to debate two budgets in this session,” Hassard said.

On the positive side, he said he was pleased to see the decrease in taxes for small businesses to zero per cent and a number of capital projects planned for his riding of Pelly-Nisutlin.

NDP Leader Kate White said she found some gaping holes in the budget.

She told reporters she hoped to see budgeting in line with the government’s declaration of a climate emergency last fall.

“We see $1.5 million for renewable energy projects, so if it’s an emergency, is that emergency action?” White said.

There was also very little movement toward affordability in the budget, White said. During Thursday’s question period, she pressed the government on raising minimum wage to $15 per hour. (It will rise $1 to $13.71 on April 1.)

She later questioned how Yukoners are supposed to afford steepening rents and electrical costs.

“There is very little in this budget to help working Yukoners pay the bills. If, like many Yukoners, you are struggling to pay rent or health expenses, there is not much for you in this budget,” White said in a statement.

She had hoped to see more movement toward affordability, lot development outside of Whitehorse, water infrastructure for Dawson City and the bypass road for Carmacks.

“There’s lots of things in the budget, but what really speaks to me is the things that aren’t there.”