Government Relations Committee Budget Consultation

Government Relations Committee Budget Consultation

On January 12, 2024 members of the CPA Newfoundland and Labrador (“CPANL”) Government Relations Committee engaged in a meeting with The Honourable Sibohan Coady, Minister of Finance, Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and her support team. Minister Coady presented the current financial position of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador (the “Province”) and highlighted areas of focus for the Province. Minister Coady welcomed the input of CPANL on these focus areas and any other areas identified by CPANL members.

AREAS OF FOCUS PRESENTED BY MINISTER COADY

Growing public debt and the rising financing costs
Identifying effective ways to measure performance against established financial targets for fiscal performance in a dynamic and ever changing environment.
Measurement of savings from investments in infrastructure and consolidation of operations in Health Care and Education continues to be a challenge.
Addressing the increasing costs of Core Government services in Health Care and Education and the collective resistance to reducing services
Addressing the fiscal realities of limited opportunities to increase revenue while expenses continue to climb.
Setting policies to address Social determinants of Health, Housing and affordable reliable power

COMMITTEE CONTRIBUTIONS
Our committee used this presentation for discussion with the Minister of Finance. There has been little change in our presentation and recommendations over the past three years as the issues have not changed. We continue to present reasonable and innovative options for Government consideration in its budgeting process.

The Minister accepted a number of suggestions, these include the need for a competitive tax regime for innovation and capital investment, enhanced financial targets and accountability and an overall reduction in expenditure, Minister Coady indicated she would bring our suggestions forth for further assessment.

Minister Coady indicated that they were open to more feedback from CPANL throughout the fiscal cycle. While the 2024-25 budget will be released this week, the Government Relations Committee is still interested in hearing ideas from the Membership that we could bring forward to the Minister of Finance for future consideration.

RELEVANCE
The Government Relations committee circulated a request for responses/contributions prior to the meeting with the Minister of Finance, however limited responses were received. Our membership has the breadth and depth to generate responses that carry different and opposing views on actions that impact our Province. For our profession to remain relevant, we must be an active participant in our community and use our strength to advise our Government. The consultation process provides benefits to our profession and valuable input to Government. By working together to generate thoughtful and practical solutions to provincial challenges, we can better support the Minister of Finance and collectively build a better Newfoundland and Labrador.

CONCLUSION
The Committee appreciates the opportunity to meet with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in the pre-budget consultation process. Minister Coady and Controller General, David Drover, CPA, CA, were generous with their time and provided open conversation on the issues they address in preparing the budget. We would like to thank Minister Coady and her team for their time, and the members of the Government Relations Committee for their contributions. The committee includes Scott Antle, CPA, CA, Boyd Chislett, CPA, CA, Rexanne Crawford, CPA, CA, Jason Hillyard, CPA, CGA, Kimberly Mayo, CPA, CA, Philip Sceviour, CPA, CMA, Troy Stanley, CPA, CA, and Colin Sullivan, CPA.

CPANL will be involved in the budget lock-in this week on Wednesday, March 20th and will have highlights for the CPANL Membership following the budget release.