Government’s year end books confirm $1.22 billion deficit

The end-of-year books are now complete for the province, confirming a $1.22 billion deficit.

The 2016-17 public accounts show the deficit was $914 million higher than budgeted, even with a positive adjustment for pensions.

The public accounts include the Summary Financial Statements, the Financial Statement Discussion and the opinion of the provincial auditor.

The deficit is due, in large part, to the ongoing impact of low resource prices on the provincial economy.

That continued weakness is far-reaching, impacting taxation revenues which came in $510 million lower than budgeted.

Revenues from non-renewable resources are also down by the end of the fiscal year by $185 million.

Other budgetary pressures included elevated crop insurance claims from a poor harvest in parts of the province and an increased use of education, health and social services.

There was some relief, however, from higher-than-expected transfers from the federal government.

The government took a number of measures in the budget, including increasing and expanding PST and closing STC, as a way to reduce the deficit.

“I’m confident that we have a plan in place to get back to balance over the course of the next three years based on the very difficult decision we made in this budget,” finance minister Kevin Doherty said.

The first-quarter report for 2017-18, which will give the first indication of the impact of the government’s austerity measures, will be realized by late August.