Deficit will be higher than $434M originally forecast

Saskatchewan Finance Minister Kevin Doherty says the province's deficit is going to be higher than projected in the budget.

The latest forecastsuggested spending will exceed revenue by more than $434 million in the 2016-17 fiscal year that began April 1.

Doherty is expected to release a mid-year budget update by the end of November and he's warning about significant pressures on the finances.

He says corporate and personal income tax revenue appears to be down, crop insurance claims are expected to be up, more people are using social services and there's an added cost because incarcerations have increased.

There's no word on how big thedeficit is right now, just that it will be over $434 million.

The finance minister says he has not yet seen the final numbers, so he won't estimate how much higher the deficit might be now.

A higher-than-expected deficit means the government will have a deeper hole to climb out of to achieve budget balance.

When the budget was released in June, Doherty said he'scommitted to balancing thebooks by next year,2017-18.