A University of Victoria professor said the Conservative government has not done a good job of safeguarding the economy against the current financial crisis.

“Clearly the more fiscal flexibility you have in the system, the better you can withstand these things,” said David Good, a professor in UVic’s school of public administration. “[The Tories] have reduced the amount of contingency in their economic and fiscal forecast.”

The latest Fiscal Monitor results posted online by the Department of Finance show the federal government had outstanding debts of $20.3 billion for April to July, 2008.

Good said that first quarter figures don’t give a completely accurate picture of a government’s fiscal health. But he admitted that this year’s financial requirement was much higher than previous years for the same period.

Finance Department spokesperson Jack Aubry said $10 billion of that balance was due to a consolidation of Crown Corporation debt planned in Budget 2007. Instead of owing money to outside lenders, the corporations shifted their debts to the government.

Good said the remaining $10.3 billion in debt is a large amount of money to owe in financially uncertain times.

“It does suggest [the Conservatives] are running fairly close to the line,” he said. “They’ve argued that they’re going to stay in a surplus by a couple billion dollars. They obviously need to be careful if they want to live up to their commitment.”

He added that Harper’s GST tax cuts contributed to some of the outstanding debt. “Those are very costly initiatives,” Good said.

James Brander, a professor in UBC’s Sauder school of business, said the April to July financial requirement doesn’t necessarily signal an impending deficit. He said the debt refers to operating costs that aren’t included in the federal budget.

But it could be a sign of hard times to come, he added.

“Is it a bad signal for next year’s budget? Absolutely it is,” Brander said.

Geoff Dembicki is a staff reporter for The Hook.