Wayne Bennett says PC budget should be thrown 'off the table'

Wayne Bennett, one of three people vying for the leadership of the provincial PC party, says he thinks the spending in Budget 2014 is out of control.

"We can't afford it," he told St. John's Morning Show host Anthony Germain. 

"Based on what we're doing, we're going into a structural deficit in order to pay for social programs."

Bennett, a member of the town council in the western Newfoundland town of Howley, said he doesn't agree with the budget, and would opt to start from scratch.

"What I would do is... I would actually take the budget and throw it off the table, restart, sit down with [NDP leader Lorraine] Michael and [Liberal leader Dwight] Ball, and say 'What are the priorities for social programs? What's affordable?' And then we'll start right from the beginning," he said.

Bennett said his fellow candidates could potentially have different viewpoints on Budget 2014.

"I would say [Bill] Barry may see eye to eye on this budget," he said. 

"I don't think [Frank] Coleman is allowed to think [about] what he has to say about the budget."