Government on crusade to save province: Furey
Premier says his job is to correct the ever-deepening fiscal crisis, not to secure re-election
Premier Andrew Furey told reporters Friday there seems to be a misunderstanding of his political ambitions.
The premier was answering questions about his state-of-the-province address Thursday in which, in a prerecorded video, he discussed the findings in the Premier’s Economic Recovery Team (PERT) report released last week and stressed the urgency of dealing with the province’s fiscal crisis.
Furey said he is willing to make unpopular decisions to turn the fiscal situation around, not merely do what will help him and the Liberals get re-elected.
“I didn’t create (the fiscal crisis). I gave up my job to try to fix it, and that’s what I’m here to try to do,” he said. “I think there’s a misinterpretation of my political ambitions, that this is all based around trying to secure the next election.”
This is a crusade about saving this province, not about the next election.”
In the Thursday night address, Furey said if the provincial government doesn’t act now to reverse the financial problems, someone else will.
He was asked to explain that statement.
“We can’t keep borrowing $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion in fiscal debt year after year. That is very much common sense,” Furey said. “If we keep doing that the bankers will be at our door and someone will make those decisions for us. What will happen eventually is we will continue to borrow to pay on our debt, the interest rates will go up, we won’t be able to afford it and we won’t be able to pay teachers, doctors, nurses, hardworking frontline people. So we need to take control of our destiny now and address the debt problem in this province.”
NDP Leader Alison Coffin said she would have liked to hear Furey state in his address the details on how consultations would unfold for people around the province, and present a schedule for them.
“We got none of that,” she told reporters Friday. “Instead what we got was, we are going to consult, but you better not disagree with what we are doing.”
Coffin said Furey has been in office for nine months, during which no changes were made.
“Now we are being told if we don’t do something right this instant, then someone else is going to do it for us. That’s very concerning to me,” she said.
“He’s had all the time while waiting for the Greene report to put in a consultation process. (He should have said), ‘this is how we are going to consult, this is why your opinion is important, this is how we are going to engage you in building a brighter, better future for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.’”
The PERT report — also referred to as the Greene report, as the PERT was chaired by Dame Moya Greene — is a comprehensive document that outlines how the province got into its dire fiscal state and options for what it will take to turn things around.
It noted the province has posted a deficit in 61 of the 71 years since Confederation. The report estimates the current debt of the province is $47.3 billion and will grow swiftly if not dealt with.
In Thursday’s address to the province, Furey called it a “pivotal moment in our collective history,” and said the province needs to act quickly.
“These urgent actions include things like: raising taxes on those who can afford it; eliminating bonuses and reviewing salaries to protect jobs; evaluating the future of Nalcor, and our future positions in oil equity; investing in technology innovation and the green economy; amalgamating health authorities; creating a new deal with Memorial University; and examining the purpose of a school district that continues to keep empty schools open.”
Furey said public consultations on the PERT report are open, and the government has stated in the past that there will be an opportunity for people all around the province to have their say.
On Friday, Furey said the government is analyzing everything in the PERT report. He said nothing has been ruled out at this point and the people of the province will be provided specifics in an “open and transparent manner” on how the government is going to tackle the fiscal challenges.
“I think the important message today is that we are prepared to tackle it, and we have to tackle it,” he said. “There’s no ignoring this any longer. We can no longer afford to whistle past the graveyard.
“I would hope that (people of Newfoundland and Labrador) understand that I’m willing to act on some of these urgent issues. I hope they were educated both by the Greene report and by the address last night, the urgency of the situation, the fiscal imbalance that we have, but equally hope and optimism for a sustainable future here if we act now. We can no longer afford to kick the can down the road. We are at the end of the road, so we need urgent action. Will there be a little bit of pain? Of course there will be a little bit of pain, but there will be longterm gain and that is the most important thing. There is that bright, optimistic future here. We just need to get our financial house in order to realize it.”