Budget flunks on cost of living and short-term housing needs, opposition leaders say
Budget shows lack of real plans from government, says PC leader
Newfoundland and Labrador's political opposition parties say the 2024-2025 budget doesn't do enough to address the cost of living in the province or other key issues.
Thursday's budget includes record spending in health care, along with additions to infrastructure and housing. It features no new taxes, but also no new cost of living breaks for residents — something PC Leader Tony Wakeham says should have been a necessity.
"It's disappointing that there is nothing there that I see that will help people with the cost of living in this province," Wakeham told reporters. "Things that they have already announced in the past, they will continue on, but there's nothing new."
Wakeham said there was room for taxes to be cut, citing the sugar-sweetened beverage tax.
The budget also paints a worsening financial picture for the province, forecasting a deficit of $152 million for the coming year.
Wakeham criticized the province for continuing to spend without having what he says is any indication of a plan.
"It should be about how we spend our money, what are your priorities. And I think that the government has spent an awful lot of money, perhaps unnecessarily, because of the fact that they have no plans," he said. "When you have no plans, you're constantly [in] reaction. And every time you react, it costs you a lot more money."
NDP Leader Jim Dinn called Thursday's budget "ho-hum," and said it lacks focus on things like infrastructure.
"If they're looking for something to dig themselves out of the hole that they've dug themselves into over the last few weeks, this is not it. No matter how they dress it up, it's as simple as that. And they've got a ways to go," Dinn said.
"In education and health care, they seem to be focused on infrastructure as the solution, and I think they've missed the human piece … and that bothers me a little."
Dinn and Wakeham made their comments at a St. John's hotel on Thursday. Both leaders decided to keep their parties out of Confederation Building in solidarity with fish harvesters who have protested at the legislature for the last two days.
Dinn highlighted other areas of the budget he thought were lacking, like the absence of a plan to tackle school class sizes and improve on inclusive education. The Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association voiced similar concerns in a press release Thursday, saying the budget lacked a comprehensive plan to address systemic issues.
In regards to housing, the budget announced money for more social housing units in the metro St. John's area; $36 million for 100 homes in Corner Brook, central Newfoundland and Labrador West; and the folding of the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation into core government, among several other items.
However, Dinn says the budget doesn't do enough to help people right now.
"They, for the first time, have a real fear that they're going to be homeless. They don't know where to go," he said. "Now our response is, 'We're going to do our best, but we really don't know if we can help.'… And that's particularly bothersome for me."
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With files from Darrell Roberts
