If you happen to be a government watchdog, the most obvious signal that you're on to something is when politicians say your arguments are "complete nonsense" or "absolutely false" without offering a lick of evidence to the contrary.

The Canadian Taxpayer's Federation recently publicized government documents showing the province's much-maligned "Our Future is Wide Open" campaign has cost taxpayers $4.3 million in the nine months since its official launch last fall -- $2.3 million over it's original budget.

When faced with reporters' questions about the budget for the campaign, government officials were quick to take offense. They claim that the originally budgeted $2 million figure was just for the first year of the campaign - the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2003. The additional $2.3 million was spent in the 2003-04 fiscal year, and in actuality, they are right on budget.

The CTF challenged the government to make public the original budget for the campaign - specifically a budget that predates the initial launch of the campaign. The CTF phone lines and fax machines, while busy with frustrated taxpayer complaints, have not been contacted by a government official willing to provide such documentation.

What are we to assume from their inability to support their claims

From the outset, the Wide Open Future campaign has reeked of partisanship and vote-buying. Last November, Premier Calvert stood before a crowd of snacking government workers and NDP supporters and said "...we've got great businesses, great people, and a future that's wide open. Let's tell the world."

It's a great line, and the part about Saskatchewan being a great place is certainly true. The problem comes in the "lets tell the world" part. The million-dollar campaign has little to do with telling the world anything. Instead, the vast majority of the $4.3 million was spent right here in Saskatchewan. The target audience is you the voting public - and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has the documents to prove it.

In a contracted study conducted by a BC-based communications agency, the target audience is identified as Saskatchewan residents aged 18-49. According to the study, 58 percent of those surveyed were aware of the campaign's existence. Of those 58 per cent, only 20 per cent reported learning something new about Saskatchewan.

Not only is this campaign a cynical taxpayer-funded effort to re-elect the NDP, it's also not a very good one.

The information obtained by the CTF raises a couple serious issues. First, it clearly shows that the campaign is more expensive than anyone in government ever let on. Not once has a politician publicly stated they plan on spending $4.3 million in the first nine months of the campaign. Even if you buy the government's line about there being two fiscal years involved, surely there is something questionable about spending $2.3 million in the first three months of the second fiscal year. How much more do they plan to spend before a possible fall election

Another issue is whether Premier Calvert was sincere about telling the world about Saskatchewan's greatness. Government admits "Phase 1" of the campaign was almost solely directed at Sask residents. And recently they admitted that the majority of "Phase 2" dollars were also spent in-province. Just when do they plan to get around to "telling the world" Perhaps in "Phase 3" - which is conveniently scheduled to begin this fall, right before an election.

The CTF has a modest suggestion to avoid this kind of confusion in the future: When government decides to spend taxpayer dollars, they should be obligated to spell out exactly how they will spend it, when they will spend it, and what rate of return they expect on our investment. This should be standard procedure for all government initiatives. It's mystifying why it isn't.

The bottom line is the government is able to refute CTF claims of over-spending because they never told the truth about their plans in the first place. The only truth is that Wide Open Future is a cynical, deceptive waste of tax dollars.