Return to surplus ‘will be a challenge’: Osborne
Fiscal update shows province has $943-million deficit
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is spending $943 million more than it is making.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Tom Osborne issued the fall fiscal update, showing the deficit for 2019-20 had grown by $392.8 million, up from the $575 million projected in the 2019 budget document.
The number comes after discounting the total amount of the Atlantic Accord, announced last spring.
The increased deficit comes largely as a result of a twomonth shutdown of the Hibernia platform, which kept $185-million worth of oil in the ground.
The net debt of the province also increased in the update, from $13.77 billion to $13.95 billion.
Osborne still aims for the government to return to surplus by 2022-23, announced as part of the Liberals’ first budget in 2016, but concedes it’s going to be tough to get there.
“I’ve not giving up on our return to surplus in 2022-23, but I want to be clear about the challenges we face in achieving that goal. I make no apologies for our balanced approach. There are no easy decisions in this process. No decision happens in a vacuum,” said Osborne.
“Everything we do has multiple impacts that cascade throughout the economy.”
Osborne made no indication that large-scale spending cuts are coming as a result of the continued deficits the province is facing. He pointed to the difficult politics of decisions to cut.
“I’m open to any ideas. Again, I’m open to sitting with any member of the legislature or any organization in the province, but, again, if you’re talking about a service in a particular area of the province, nobody wants that service cut, but they’ll ask you to look at something in another area. You go to that area and, you know, it is a challenge. There’s no doubt about it.”
Tory finance critic Tony Wakeham says the government is too reliant on oil and gas to fill provincial coffers.
“It really highlights, again, that we’re focused on oil revenue. They were elected five years ago, talking about diversifying the economy. They were going to talk about how they spend a million dollars on a U.S. company that was going to tell us how to diversify the economy, and yet we find ourselves here today focused on a drop in oil revenue and a significant deficit,” said Wakeham.
“I think (Osborne) hopes oil prices will go up. I think he hopes we’ll get more oil production. I have seen nothing that outlines any kind of a plan to do that.”
New Democratic Party Leader Alison Coffin says there are other ways to balance the budget that are being left out of the conversation.
“Not once have I heard anyone mention a wealth tax. Not once have I heard people say maybe (not) giving tax breaks to the tune of $40 million to a company that is otherwise profitable might be a way of getting more revenues in,” she said.
“We really need to think differently about how we are approaching balancing our budget.”
Richard Alexander of the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers Council says his organization isn’t calling for massive spending cuts, but something has to change.
“What we need in this province is reform. The current strategy, government’s current plan right now, is we’re going to hold spending essentially where it is. By doing that, what they’re having to do is go and borrow. The interest on the province’s debt, the province’s credit card, has increased in the last couple of years from $900 million to $1.4 billion,” he said.
“What that means is, there’s less money now to go into health and education. Now, it’s going to the banks. We’re paying interest on the province’s credit card. Reductions in services in education and health are already occurring with this plan, without reform. They need to restructure it, so they can afford to deliver better outcomes for people in the province.”
Alexander is backed up by the St. John’s Board of Trade. In a news release, the board says public debt is the largest concern for local business owners.
“Debt servicing is already our second-largest expenditure as a province,” board CEO Nancy Healey wrote.
“The status quo is not working, and government must stop the flood before our ship sinks.”
“The status quo is not working, and government must stop the flood before our ship sinks.” St. John’s Board of Trade CEO Nancy Healey