Tom Osborne's still talking surplus, but he's got 99 (million) more problems
2017-18 deficit up to $910.8 million in public accounts statements
The deficit for the last fiscal year turned out to be nearly $100 million worse than budgeted, but Newfoundland and Labrador's finance minister says the province is still on track to reach surplus in just over four years.
The government last week released its annual public accounts statements for the 2017-18 fiscal year, detailing how actual revenue and expenses compared with the government's budget for the fiscal year that ended on March 31.
In all, the red ink added up to $98.8 million above the government's revised estimate.
The cause is a a combination of higher than expected spending and slightly lower than expected revenue.
The deficit pushed the deficit to $910.8 million, or about $133 million more than originally forecast in March 2017,
Budget variances normal: Osborne
Finance Minister Tom Osborne says budget variances are normal.
"Even on budget day, we still have several months of bills coming in and having to be paid that are dated prior to March 31st, and revenue that we're still waiting to come through," he told CBC Radio's Central Morning Show.
"The reality here is the very competent staff in the Department of Finance were 99 per cent accurate on their best estimate of what these numbers would be."
The deficit is 17 per cent higher than forecast in March 2017, and 10.1 per cent higher than in the revised estimate this past March.
Asked why the deficit was higher despite reports of higher than expected oil revenue, Osborne insisted the deficit is being reined in, noting that the previous Progressive Conservative government's last budget forecast a deficit of $2.7 billion for 2015-16, nearly three times what the deficit is today. The higher oil revenues being reported recently will be reflected in the 2018-19 accounts.
"We were putting on the credit card, the province was putting on the provincial credit card, $4.38 million a day on average. That was the projected number," he said.
"That's down now to closer to $2 million a day. So that's money that doesn't go to hospitals, it doesn't go to schools, it doesn't go to paving roads, it's money that goes on the credit card."
The province is still on track to return to surplus in 2022-23, said Osborne.
With files from the Central Morning Show