|
Opposition Finance Critic Anna Thistle got a commitment
from the Finance Minister yesterday in question period in the House of
Assembly that he will provide an update of the provincial finances within
the next week because several revenue projections in the initial budget have
now been proven to be too conservative. "When
the budget was read last Spring, we were saying that the government was
projecting a pessimistic view of the revenue which government would be
receiving," said Thistle. "They were using these low figures to justify the
extreme cuts they were making to social programs and to government employees
and we now are finding out that what the opposition was saying was indeed
correct. The government intentionally underestimated several sources of
revenue.
"Now that a more true picture of the finances can be
realized, I would now like to know if government will commit to going to
back and changing some of the decisions they made. The people of the
province deserve a detailed explanation of how this increased revenue will
be spent and I am looking forward to getting more details on this."
The Liberal Opposition Critic says the cuts instituted
by this government to social programs are directly causing serious problems
for many individuals. "The cuts they made were like a bucket of cold water
being poured over the economy of this province. Their budget killed consumer
confidence and it will take years to repair the damage they have done.
The Liberal Party has advocated a balanced approach to
managing the fiscal affairs of the province. That approach involves
investing in people while also recognizing the need for fiscal restraint. |