Finance
March 16, 2017

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Cathy Bennett, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board:

Minister Provides Date for Budget 2017

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House today to announce that Budget 2017 will be delivered on Thursday, April 6.

Newfoundland and Labrador continues to face a very serious financial situation and our government is focused on strong fiscal management. We have established financial targets and are committed to achieving them, as was recently evidenced in our Fall Fiscal and Economic update with a lower deficit projection for the current fiscal year than what was projected in Budget 2016.

Over the past year, Mr. Speaker, our government has been working to lower spending, create a leaner and more efficient public service and create a more modern and effective government. Budget 2017 will demonstrate our government’s continued commitment to sound fiscal management in light of the difficult finances we face.

The Way Forward: A Vision for Sustainability and Growth in Newfoundland and Labrador sets ambitious long-term goals to improve our province while facing our fiscal realities, and provides tangible actions to achieve those goals. These goals include achieving deficit reduction targets, eliminating excess and employing an overall approach that ensures all spending decisions are justified on a year-by-year basis.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen our Way Forward plan in action over the past few months through strategic announcements such as $77.2 million for our five-year provincial roads plan, $100 million for our three-year municipal infrastructure program (which includes $70 million for multi-year capital works and $30 million for municipal capital works), progress on the replacement of Western Memorial Regional Hospital and the announcement of a new long-term care home for Corner Brook.

I look forward to April 6 when our government will lay out Budget 2017 for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador which will outline our actions to date while maintaining our commitment to return to surplus in 2022-23.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

2017 03 16                              2:05 p.m.