The province’s blueprint for the fiscal year ahead comes down Thursday afternoon following approval of the massive Bay du Nord project which is expected to bring huge economic benefits to the province.
When the PERT report came down last year, one of the main areas of focus was leveraging the province’s oil production to help generate revenue and knock down the province’s debt. The fall fiscal update in November projected a net debt of $16.7 billion, a reduction of $500 million from the original budget estimate of $17.2 billion.
Since then, oil prices have been on a roller coaster ride with Brent crude hitting benchmark levels in excess of $130 USD following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prices have since come down a bit.
There’s been a steady stream of major announcements in the days leading up to the budget including the lifting of a moratorium on wind energy development announced in the House of Assembly on Tuesday.
Among the items many will be watching for in the budget are the possibility of further measures to address the cost of living, whether or not any new taxes or fees will be introduced, and updates on ongoing actions to address the delivery of public services.
VOCM’s Linda Swain, Richard Duggan and Allison King are in the budget lock-in, and VOCM’s live coverage with VOCM Open Line Host Paddy Daly begins at 2:00 island time.
