Tories trying to undo fiscal mess they've created: Dwight Ball

The leader of the Official Opposition says the Newfoundland and Labrador government is trying to work its way out of its own fiscal mess, following the speech from the throne Tuesday afternoon.

Lt.-Gov. Frank Fagan delivered the speech in the House of Assembly, the first since Premier Paul Davis took office.

• Overhaul of school system tops agenda in speech from the throne

Liberal Leader Dwight Ball said people in the Progressive Conservatives have overspent oil revenues and failed to manage the province's revenue adequately.

"No matter how much the Tories scramble to try and undo this mess, this fiscal mess that they've created, the damage is done," said Ball.

"The people of this province are already feeling the impacts of a government that didn't manage and didn't plan for our future."

Ahead of the provincial budget, expected to be delivered next week, Ball said government has already indicated there will be a deficit this year — as well as the next five years.

According to Ball, government has more money now than it ever had before, yet the province is facing the "harsh reality" of deficit budgets.

"In keeping with the Tory tradition we know that the upcoming budget will be a deficit budget, one that the finance minister has said will contain job losses, tax hikes and fee increases," he said.

"A budget where people of our province will continue to pay the price for this government's poor management and failure to plan."

'Short on policies'

Meanwhile, NDP Leader Earle McCurdy said he was glad to see government moving to reinstate the family violence intervention court, saying the Tories had "seen the error of their ways" in cutting the project.

"I think Gerry Rogers' hard work presenting petitions day after day in the house has paid off and we're glad to see some mention of action in the area of mental health, but apart from those items it was really long on platitudes and short on policies and specifics," said McCurdy.

McCurdy said he realizes the budget announcement will take care of some of those details, but there was no real economic plan in the speech going forward in terms of demographic challenges in the province.

"There wasn't really much to it other than to say here's what we've done in the last few years and some strategies," said McCurdy.