Budget 2010: The Right Investments — For Our Children and Our Future The Williams Government released its seventh budget today, continuing its substantial investments in economic stimulus, healthcare and education. Budget 2010: The Right Investments — For Our Children and Our Future presents a sound and progressive fiscal framework with investments targeted for the benefit of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, now and into the future. "The decisions reflected in this budget demonstrate our careful and strategic management of the province's financial resources," said the Honourable Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. "As the world emerges from the global economic downturn, now is not the time to pull back on stimulus spending. We will continue our aggressive infrastructure strategy and approach to economic stimulus, while also ensuring quality programs and services for our people. Newfoundland and Labrador is a province on the move — we have decreased our debt by $3.4 billion in the last five years; we have moved from being a province with one of the highest levels of poverty in Canada to the province with the third lowest; this past year we were among the top performing provinces in growth in retail sales, labour income and capital investment; and we saw housing starts at near record numbers. We want to maintain this incredible momentum as we continue to take steps to make this a preferred place to live, work, invest in and visit." Budget 2010 projects a revised deficit of $294.9 million for 2009-10, and forecasts a deficit of $194.3 million for 2010-11. "The economic outlook for Newfoundland and Labrador in 2010 is quite positive," said the Honourable Tom Marshall, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board. "Our objective is to provide investments that further stimulate and support this projected growth. While our province has weathered the recent economic challenges better than most jurisdictions, the global economic recovery is fragile. Until we see traction in the world economy, especially in countries where we sell our forestry, fish and manufacturing products, we must maintain the momentum here at home and continue to invest to provide jobs and opportunities for the people of our province." Highlights of the positive economic outlook for Newfoundland and Labrador in 2010:
Highlights of Budget 2010 include:
"The initiatives laid out in this budget allow for the protection of our children's health and safety, quality education, improved access to healthcare services, and significant economic stimulus," said Premier Williams. "We are securing our bright future with a continued focus on strong fiscal management and the right investments, ensuring that the investments we make today are sustainable for our children, for our province and for our future." - 30 - Media contacts:
2010 03 29 2:05 p.m. |
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