Manitoba projects deficit close to $2B, government launches health-care audits
The Manitoba government issued a new, higher deficit projection Friday and announced financial audits of health authorities to crack down on what it called overspending.
The deficit for the fiscal year that will end March 31 is now forecast to come in just under $2 billion -- up from $1.6 billion in the last fiscal update in December. It would be the highest deficit ever in Manitoba outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NDP government, elected in October, has blamed the former Progressive Conservative government for making health-care promises that were not accounted for in the Tories' budget a year ago.
"The increases in health-care expense were spurred by decisions made by the previous government but were unbudgeted," Finance Minister Adrien Sala said.
Money was also not set aside for recent collective agreements that awarded salary increases to health workers, Sala said.
Financial audits are to be done at four of the province's five regional health authorities as well as at Shared Health, the central planning body, Sala said, although he refused to say what prompted the move.
"Today, we won't be speaking about the details of those audits," Sala said.
Costs have also jumped by more than $200 million to set aside money to settle long-standing lawsuits in justice and social services. Sala again refused to provide any details or identify the lawsuits.
Another factor is the NDP government's decision to temporarily suspend the provincial fuel tax, as of Jan. 1, for at least six months. That is costing the treasury an estimated $82 million in the first three months alone.
The extra red ink comes as Sala prepares his first budget, set to be delivered April 2.
Manitoba has registered deficits in every year but two since 2009, and the NDP has promised to balance the budget within its first term while also boosting health care.
"Our government will show that we can balance the need to invest in priority areas while we ... find that path to balance," Sala said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.