Finance Minister Ernie Steeves in an undated file photo. (Image: YouTube video capture)
New Brunswick’s finance minister is set to provide an update Tuesday on the province’s fiscal situation.
Ernie Steeves will deliver an update on the government’s second-quarter financial results at 10 a.m.
The Higgs government was projecting a $245-million deficit when the 2021-22 budget was first unveiled.
But the first-quarter results showed a projected $38-million surplus, which the province said was due to one-time federal funding from Ottawa.
“To put things in perspective, if not for the federal funding, we would actually be showing a deficit,” Steeves told reporters on Oct. 13.
That extra money included $103 million for health care system needs and COVID-19 immunizations, along with $45 million due to an additional one-time transfer under the Canada Community-Building Fund, formerly known as the Gas Tax Fund.
What is not yet known is how the new tentative agreements reached with 11 CUPE New Brunswick locals over the weekend will impact the numbers.
Details of those agreements have not been made public pending ratification. The details of the votes are expected to be released Friday.
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