Without the drastic drop in oil prices and the COVID-19 crisis, the province would not have written to the federal government requesting urgent assistance.
That was the assertion of Finance Minister Tom Osborne, speaking on the VOCM Morning Show.
He says the province came in to 2020 in “relatively good shape” despite facing several challenges, but has been put in a precarious position because of the current situation.
Plunging oil prices is one of the challenges currently facing the province.
In preparation for the financial impacts of COVID-19 and the plunging oil prices, Osborne says they have put $200-million into a contingency fund and now have the ability to borrow up to $2-billion.
Osborne calls the letter written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “snapshot in time”, and what the province really needs is equalization.
If we were receiving equalization the same as other provinces Osborne believes we would have been in a surplus position over the last three to four years.
