Board of Trade CEO, Nancy Healey says debt servicing is already the province’s second largest expenditure. She says the status quo is not working, and government must stop the flood before the ship sinks.

A recent survey of the Board of Trade’s membership showed “public debt” as being the highest among their concerns.

Healey says the fiscal update will only amplify those anxieties.

The Board of Trade is calling on all elected members in the House to work together to ensure that government expenditures are tempered, and that the province maintain a short-term plan to return to a balanced budget.

Cuts and Borrowing Just Maintaining Status Quo says Alexander

The Executive Director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Employer’s Council says rather than cuts, there needs to be reform in the way government delivers its programs and services.

Richard Alexander was responding to Wednesday’s Fall Fiscal Update that showed the deficit grow from $575-million to $943-million. He says without reform, government is borrowing money to maintain the status quo.

Alexander claims that in the last couple of years, interest on what the province pays on its credit card to deliver the services in the way they are now has grown from $900-million, to $1.4-billion.

That’s just interest, per year, on what government is spending. He says that is “crowding out” what government has available to spend on health and education.

Alexander insists that crowding out should be done in a systematic, planned way so that it’s sustainable for the long-term. He says once you do that, great things happen like better outcomes for people, and better financial outcomes for the province.