Next budget won't be 'frightful,' Furey says when pressed on Greene report

Andrew Furey promised Thursday there's no "frightening" budget coming should he and his Liberal Party win the upcoming election, as he defended — yet again — the still-to-be seen Moya Greene report.

The Liberal leader was forced to the defensive Thursday in St. John's as he took questions from reporters, who quizzed him on how he plans to address the province's fiscal situation, and what role the Greene report will play in those moves.

"There is no simple solution to this," he said. "There's not going to be an incredibly blunt and frightful budget that shocks everybody into their basements. That's not going to happen.

"It took us 15, 20 years to get here; it's going to take short, medium and long-term strategies to get us out of it. But we need to do it, collectively, together."

• Complete coverage: Read all of Newfoundland and Labrador Votes stories

Welcome to the Election Notebook, your regular update from Newfoundland and Labrador's 51st general election. 

Here's the latest:

'Are you saying, 'trust me'?'

Furey held his daily news conference in St. John's Thursday, following a cross-province trip that took him through several central Newfoundland districts.

It was there that he took some sharp questions from reporters, including CBC's Mark Quinn — who pressed the leader on why he called for an election before the delivery of that Greene report, and before the Liberals lay out a comprehensive plan for the province's finances.

"Still the public doesn't know what you're going to do. Are you saying, 'trust me?'" Quinn asked.

"Some of that is trust, for sure, but we'll have a balanced, measured, fair approach after broad public consultations," Furey responded.

You can watch more from their exchange in the video player below:

Furey pressed for answers on fiscal plan, Greene report

4 years ago

Duration 2:24

Liberal Leader Andrew Furey said there will be no 'frightful' budget if he wins the February election, as he took some sharp questions from CBC reporter Mark Quinn.

Responding to further calls from the Progressive Conservative campaign to release the Greene report, Furey said Thursday he cannot release a report that has not yet been written. 

"There hasn't been a pen to paper," he said.

He added he does not want to rush Greene and other members of his economic recovery team, calling them successful Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who are volunteering their time.

About those budgets

On Thursday, Furey said the provincial government has been running a "fiscal gap" of $800 million and that Newfoundland and Labrador's fiscal situation has been worsening for about 20 years.

But a look at a historical budget tracker paints a different picture. For years, RBC's economic research division has been tracking provincial budget amounts, and although there are limitations on precise historical and cross-province comparisons, they paint a useful picture of the last 40 years of government operations.

• RBC Economics: Canadian Federal and Provincial Fiscal Tables

Those tables show Newfoundland and Labrador has been running deficits for decades: from 1982 to 1997, from 1999 to 2005, and again from 2013 to 2020.

Since those records began, there's only been eight years of surplus (and in one of those years, 2020, the surplus was booked because of an accounting decision related to the Atlantic Accord.)

We can go back even further — the 2003 Royal Commission report showed that the province ran one surplus before 1982. That was in 1950, the year after Newfoundland joined Confederation.

• Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada

The difference now is the size: the deficit for the fiscal year ending 2021 is expected to reach $1.84 billion, representing 6.2 per cent of the provincial GDP — a number that has rarely been reached.

Storm chips, anyone?

PC Leader Ches Crosbie started his day in Marystown and is ending it in Clarenville, with short campaign stops along the way. 

He's moving ever closer to winter weather — but Crosbie says he's prepared, as far as snacks go.

Several candidates in the St. John's area have closed their campaign offices due to the winter storm.

• Who is running in your district? Get the complete list of candidates

We saw some candidates working from home and others suiting up to get some signs out. And we particularly like this up-and-coming NL Alliance spokesperson's take on things.

If you find yourself stormbound, but with a politics itch, the NL Alliance will be hosting a Zoom discussion Thursday night with some of their candidates.

Correcting the record

A mix-up in Wednesday's Election Notebook deserves a highlighted correction. It is drawing close, but the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot has not yet passed. The deadline is 4 p.m. on Feb. 2.

You can apply for a mail-in ballot online. You will need to provide your address, and some proof of eligibility. That can be proof of identity through a driver's licence or a combination of other government cards, cheques or bills. 

It could also be by having another individual who can provide their proof of eligibility attest to yours.

It's also not too late to register yourself to vote. You can do that the day of the election, although Elections NL recommends doing so earlier.

In other news

Several candidates for the upcoming election tell the Telegram's Barb Sweet that they're encouraged by the diversity of faces running for office. However, incumbent Lela Evans notes sometimes the diversity at the ballot box doesn't translate to diversity in the House of Assembly.

Canadian Press reporter Sarah Smellie takes the temperature of the race in Upper Lake Melville and concludes it's a wide-open race.

What's coming up

• NDP Leader Alison Coffin plans to return to the St. John's area on Friday to canvass with local candidates.
• Liberal Leader Andrew Furey is set to head to Marystown and speak to reporters in the afternoon.
• PC Leader Ches Crosbie will visit Clarenville and campaign with local candidates before returning to St. John's.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador