Finance Minister Tom Osborne said the government plans to diversify from over-reliance on oil revenues to avoid future crashes
“What we’ve done for the past three years is try and create a more diverse economy in the province, not to understate the importance of oil and gas,” Osborne said.Those other opportunities include expanding the mining and aquaculture sectors and funding to support newcomer integration and entrepreneurship.
When asked whether the budget stands as an election platform, Osborne said the election call is the premier’s decision, but he stands by his department’s plan.“Is it a good budget, does it serve the people of the province well? Yes,” he said. The plan does not include tax or fee increases; the government has eliminated a sales tax on auto insurance as “steps to provide consumer relief” following steep tax increases in recent years that the Liberals stressed were necessary to get finances back on track.The budget speech’s optimistic tone comes hand in hand with references to the recently revised Atlantic Accord, a key federal-provincial agreement divvying up offshore oil revenues.The newly negotiated deal promised $2.
The government projects a 12 per cent increase in oil production over the next year at a price of US$65.
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