The Gallant government has tabled its final budget of its mandate with a return to balanced books now projected for 2021-2022 — yet another year out — and a projected deficit for 2018-2019 of $189-million.
Finance minister Cathy Rogers delivered the budget which includes the spending of an extra $73-million.
Of that, almost $28-million to support youth employment, over $20-million to help seniors and almost $25-million towards economic competitiveness – issues Rogers identifies as ‘urgent priorities’ that need to be tackled right away.
“There is an old adage that says, ‘you have to spend money to make money’,” Rogers says.
“It became clear that a trio of challenges need to be addressed, and addressed head on. These challenges will cost money. We came to the conclusion that we cannot afford to ignore these challenges; we have to tackle them now.”
The health department’s budget is up 3.7-percent to $2.75-billion.
The province says this budget does not include new taxes or fee increases.
You can read more about the budget by clicking here.
