The provincial finance minister painted an optimistic picture while addressing a business crowd at a luncheon in Saint John.
Cathy Rogers was the speaker at a Chamber luncheon and told those attending, which included Saint John mayor Don Darling and Saint John-Rothesay MP Wayne Long, that the New Brunswick economy is improving and so is our fiscal situation.
“We have moved beyond the days of deficits in the $600M+ range, from only a few years ago and we are on track towards a balanced budget,” says Rogers, who noted that for the first time we lead the country in average weekly earnings growth.
Rogers: province’s economy is improving & so is fiscal situation even if we’re not ‘soaring’. We’re on track towards balanced budget #nbpoli
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) March 2, 2017
She also talked about the workforce and the need for immigration, saying that we need to make sure New Brunswickers have the right tools to join the labour force today and tomorrow and we need to attract more people to New Brunswick.
“We need to grow our population and we’re doing a number of things on these initiatives to help you find the talent pool that you need, but also just to grow our population, to grow our tax base,” she says.
Rogers says there’s a lot of work left to do when it comes to the economy and the challenges are real but says we’re experiencing growth and we’re on a path for sustainable fiscal and economic health.
NB has very real positive indicators: Rogers. For 1st time we’re leading country in average weekly earnings. But challenges ‘equally real’
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) March 2, 2017
