Opportunities for province in federal budget: Coady
Provincial Finance Minister Siobhan Coady called Monday’s federal budget a “very progressive budget” with a lot of opportunities for the province.
In the budget announced by federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, there was money to help lower childcare costs, aid in a transfer to a green economy, better access to employment insurance, money to help with long-term care, beefing up businesses and boosting tourism, and a federal $15-per-hour minimum wage.
The budget has a heavy focus on programs aimed at continuing to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic across the country and stimulus funds to help provinces and businesses.
A big-ticket item was a national child-care program — $30 billion over five years going into daycare and early childhood education.
“Very pleased to see the commitment to child care … looking to continue to lower the cost per child. It’s very important for families, and particularly for women, allowing them to get back into the workforce. It is a good economic program, as well,” Coady said.
“(In the province’s) last budget we lowered our costper-child care to $25 a day and now, with this assistance, we will be considering what more we can do.
“I’m also very pleased to see the just under $18-billion commitment to green transition and, of course, this province has an abundance of renewable energy opportunities, and we will be looking at how we can utilize some of that funding.”
There was no direct mention in the federal budget of Muskrat Falls cost mitigation measures, or helping the province with its crippling debt, but Coady said those talks are still ongoing.
In the meantime, she said, the federal budget offers a lot for the province, and over the next few days the provincial government will look at the details to see how the province can best avail of the funding and programs.
“(There are) a lot of progressive things in this budget and we are looking to working with the federal government as we move through this pandemic and then transitioning to a stronger economy,” she said. “I think there’s lots here for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador as we move forward.”