Saskatchewan has a few problems at the moment. Oil prices are down. Forest fires have been ferocious. Even worse: Saskatchewan has a spending problem.

The Saskatchewan government announced that it’s now projecting a $292 million deficit for the year after releasing its first quarter numbers. Oil is the biggest factor with non-renewable resource revenue down by about $240 million. The wildfire bill hasn’t been finalized yet, but the early return is $100 million.

This quarterly report itself isn’t a reason to panic. Finance Minister Kevin Doherty points out the recently announced deficit is only 2 per cent of the total budget. He’s committed to trim spending to make up the difference before the end of the fiscal year.

The problem is this isn’t Saskatchewan’s only deficit.

The Saskatchewan government is borrowing $700 million to pay for capital projects. Instead of including the entirety of that spending in its balanced budget calculation, the government is only including one year’s payment on a thirty-year loan. But for those who define a deficit as a budget that spends more money than it has, it’s an additional $700 million deficit.

Add it up and Saskatchewan is now on pace to increase the provincial debt by nearly $1 billion this year.

Even before oil prices finished falling and forests finished burning, the spending problem was becoming apparent.

Saskatchewan has experienced extraordinary growth, but government spending has increased faster. In 2007-08, the Saskatchewan government spent $11,006 per person (adjusted for inflation). By 2014-15, the province’s per capita spending had increased to $12,388. That means that the Saskatchewan Party government is spending 12.6 per cent more per person than the previous government.

Then compare the Saskatchewan government’s spending to the spending in Manitoba. The Manitoba NDP’s fiscal credibility is under constant fire. The bond rating agency Moody’s has downgraded Manitoba’s credit rating. This year the Manitoba government projects a deficit of $422 million. Manitoba has no realistic plan to balance the budget in the foreseeable future.

Despite all of that, the Saskatchewan government still spends 4.3 per cent more per capita than Manitoba’s NDP government.

Even if the Saskatchewan government makes good the $292 million hole that’s appeared in the budget, the province will pay about $305 million to cover the interest on the current provincial debt. That’s hundreds of millions that will not go hire nurses or teachers; build roads or bridges; provide tax relief or even pay down the actual debt. It’s $305 million that is simply gone and that number will rise as the provincial debt continues to grow.

The government must do what every household and small business does when things get tight. Every expenditure must be evaluated. There will be areas where the government can further reduce its footprint as it has done by allowing attrition to shrink the civil service. There will be other places where the government must eliminate an area of operation entirely as it did when it closed Enterprise Saskatchewan regional offices in 2012.

The Saskatchewan government needs to act quickly and decisively. There will be some tough choices, but they have to be made. And waiting will only make it harder as the descent into debt gets deeper.