The figure is $621.9 million higher than the $506.2 million deficit estimated when the budget was tabled in March 2022.
“Despite our best efforts we were not able to predict the amounts of revenues that came into the province,” he said. “They were spent on targeted support for people most in need and on things like housing. It allowed us to do some of those things more quickly.”
Most of the 1.7 billion was spent during the spring, and went to economic support programs, along with student loans and bursaries. About $68 million was allocated for future obligations for such things as aging government buildings that may need to be cleared of asbestos. About $4.3 million was spent on post-tropical storm Fiona cleanup costs and relief programs.
“This would also be a good time to increase the rates for income assistance … to at least keep pace with inflation,” Churchill said, noting that those rates have remained frozen for the last two years.NDP Leader Claudia Chender was critical of the size of the extra appropriations and said more of that type of spending should be subject to legislative oversight. One way to do that, she said, is to make the House of Assembly sit for longer than it currently does.
“I think that they want to do whatever they want with the money that they get … and they don’t want to have to answer for it,” Chender said. “Nova Scotians should be very concerned about that.” Meanwhile, the province’s net debt stood at $17.8 billion at the end of the fiscal year. Finance Department officials said the surplus for 2022-23 would go toward the debt.
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