Newfoundland sets goal to rise above fiscal ‘crisis’

In a throne speech that looks back as much as forward, the Newfoundland and Labrador government says it must do more with less to rise from an unprecedented financial meltdown.

The speech, read Tuesday by Lt.Gov. Frank Fagan, said the Liberal government took majority power in 2015 “at a fiscal breaking point,” after 12 years of Progressive Conservative rule.

The document blames overreliance on offshore oil earnings that have collapsed since world prices crashed, starting in mid2014. The province now faces an almost $1.6-billion deficit as net debt hit a historic high at $12.7 billion last year.

Still, the throne speech cast the best possible light on an ugly situation. “We are determined to embrace what some may deem a crisis as an opportunity to do better with less,” Fagan read. “As a province, we have had to come to terms with the unprecedented fiscal situation before us, and it has not been easy. We faced the very real risk of losing the ability to borrow to pay for the programs and services government provides.”

The speech also takes aim at the almost $12-billion Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project that was estimated at half that cost when the previous Tory government approved it in 2012. “We are in too deep,” the throne speech said of the over-cost and delayed hydro development in Labrador. “Cancelling the project is not feasible and it would put more financial burden on the people of the province.”

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s Liberal government is committing to a balanced budget for 2017-18 — its second straight year in the black, as red ink keeps flowing in other East Coast provinces.

Finance Minister Randy Delorey confirmed during a speech to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce Tuesday that the April 27 budget will confirm the government has balanced its 2016-17 books, and will introduce a balanced budget for the year ahead.

“That is exciting, that is important. But one balanced budget does not fiscal sustainability make,” Delorey told the audience.

The governing Liberals have made fiscal responsibility a key part of their message, and will likely tout their back-to-back balancing of the books if they call an expected election later this year.