A columnist with the National Post who penned a piece frowning on a federal bailout for Newfoundland and Labrador says doing so without having strings attached would be precedent setting.
Jackson Doughart told VOCM Open Line with Paddy Daly his thoughts apply not only to Newfoundland and Labrador, but also other provinces including his own, New Brunswick. Their debt is not as significant as NL’s, where interest charges swallow 13.5 per cent of the budget each year, but it is significant.
He says NL has a big spending problem, and before Ottawa goes bailing out provinces, it should set ground rules to realign spending to be consistent with revenue.
Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady says they are not talking about any bailout, but that the discussions are focused on rearranging the financing package for Muskrat Falls.
Listen to the conversation here: