The Premier says the bulk of the salaries and benefits paid out by government lie within agencies, boards, and commissions.
Andrew Furey addressed questions from the reporters this morning at Confederation Building following his pre-taped State of the Province address last night.
Furey hinted last night at the direction government intends to go in the short-term with reference to raising taxes for those who can afford it, amalgamating the health authorities, reviewing the future of Nalcor and the school districts, and reaching a new deal with Memorial University.
Furey told reporters this morning that core government is back down to 2004 levels, and that the bulk of salaries and benefits—80 per cent—lie in areas outside core government.
“Most of the fiscal burden, the personnel burden right now lies in the boards and agencies and we need to be able to tackle that,” says Furey.
The Greene Report also recommended selling off the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation and Marble Mountain. Furey is not ruling that out.
He says they’re doing any evaluation of everything but they are a long way out from being able to present specifics.
Little New Information Offered, says NDP Leader
(File Photo)
Meanwhile, NDP Leader Alison Coffin wasn’t impressed with the contents of Premier Andrew Furey’s address.
Coffin says the Premier didn’t offer much in the way of new information, noting that she would have liked to see more detail on the schedule of the consultation process.
Her take on his remarks was, “We’re going to consult, but you’d better not disagree with what we’re doing,” which Coffin calls “concerning.”
