While many of the initiatives announced in today’s federal budget could help stimulate economic activity in Newfoundland and Labrador, more specifics are needed to see if there are benefits for workers and the economy of the province, says Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones.

“Infrastructure spending, tax cuts, money for industry sectors and communities experiencing hardships all have the potential to provide some relief to workers and sectors negatively impacted by the current economic problems,” said Ms. Jones. “However, the funding announced in today’s budget is vague and doesn’t provide any specifics as to how much will be coming to our province and which projects will receive funding.”

Jones noted that she is disappointed that there was no mention of the Lower Churchill as a national infrastructure project; there is no breakdown as to how much the forestry and fishery sectors in the province will receive; and no indication how much affected communities and workers in towns such as Grand Falls-Windsor or Labrador City and Wabush will receive under this budget to help offset the negative impacts facing industry towns.

“This budget promises lots of spending, however, the devil will be in the details. Only time will tell whether the average Newfoundlander and Labradorian will receive any true benefit from this budget or whether our province will again receive less than its fair share of the federal pot.”