Jennifer English, Director, Government Relations (Atlantic), Canadian Credit Union Association
On Tuesday, April 16, 2019, the Honourable Tom Osbourne, Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board for Newfoundland and Labrador, delivered the 2019-20 budget with a projected surplus of $1.92 billion made possible through the Atlantic Accord agreement. Deficits are projected for 2020-21 and 2021-22.
This is the final budget from Premier Ball’s Liberal government before the upcoming spring election.
Of interest to credit unions
CCUA is pleased that Budget 2019 includes a commitment to partner with credit unions on a small business loan guarantee program pilot, which has been a key focus in recent months.
The provincial government is positioning the pilot program as an opportunity to focus additional supports on specific sectors within the small business community. Details are not available on the size of the guarantee for the pilot initiative at this time. CCUA will connect with TCII senior staff in the coming days to gather more details.
Additional budget items of interest to credit unions include:
- An extension of the Cellular Service Pilot Project to bring service to additional areas of the province.
- $2.4 million to support implementation of the 2019-20 Immigration Action Plan Initiatives, which include attracting 1,700 newcomers annually.
- $250,000 for social enterprise research projects. (Part of the Social Enterprise Action Plan)
- $131.4 million for the 2019 Provincial Road Improvement Plan, Trans-Labrador Highway and Team Gushue Highway.
- $15 million for vessel refits and maintenance of ferries, terminals, and wharves.
Taxation Measures:
- Budget 2019 contains no tax or fee increases.
- The tax on automobile insurance will be eliminated in 2019.
- The Temporary Deficit Reduction Levy will be eliminated by December 31, 2019.
- $78.2 million to maintain tuition levels for post-secondary students, including an additional $4 million to Memorial University and $1.1 million to College of the North Atlantic.
- $57 million for the Seniors’ Benefit, which supports 47,000 seniors and their families each year.
- $66 million for the Newfoundland and Labrador Income Supplement, which benefits 155,000 individuals and their families each year.
Economic Analysis:
- Household income is expected to increase by 3.3 per cent.
- Capital investment is expected to rise by 16.8 per cent as a result of the West White Rose and Voisey’s Bay projects.
- Real GDP is expected to grow by 4.1 per cent.
- Real exports are expected to increase by 11.3 per cent.