ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Opposition parties scored a rare victory in the House of Assembly on Wednesday evening, shortening an interim spending bill from three months to two months.
The House of Assembly reopened this week with the intention of passing a three-month interim supply bill to prepare for the 2020-21 provincial budget, which is coming on Sept. 30.
An interim supply bill is a standard spending bill that allows the government to continue spending money until a new budget is passed. The bills draw directly from the previous year’s budget to map how the money is spent.
Progressive Conservative Leader Ches Crosbie and New Democratic Party Leader Alison Coffin said publicly they would oppose a three-month interim supply bill, arguing they had allowed $4.6 billion in spending already under the previous interim supply bill passed in March without a budget being passed.
Crosbie says it was about stopping the Liberals from getting everything they wanted in the legislature.
“I think we’ve demonstrated to the government that they can’t do any old thing they want to do,” said Crosbie.
“They have to be reasonable. We’ve kept them to a certain sense of fiscal discipline.”
Crosbie says the government was overreaching, and doesn’t need nearly that much time to pass the budget.
“There’s no need for 90 days,” he said.
Coffin was asked if the government should take the amendment as a shot across the bow for the coming provincial budget.
“Absolutely,” she said.
“When I said I wasn’t going to support interim supply, that was also a shot across the bow. Maybe they’re listening now? We’ll see.”
Finance Minister Siobhan Coady says she doesn’t understand what the opposition parties think they’ve accomplished by flexing their parliamentary muscles.
“I don’t understand the logic of asking for a 60-day supply versus a 90-day supply,” Coady said.
“Ninety days is the general rule of thumb for approving interim supply. Interim supply is just ensuring government has money during the budget process.”
Coady says if the budget process takes longer than 60 days, they’ll need to pass another interim supply bill anyway.
“I will remind us all it took 57 calendar days in 2018, which was the last normalized year in our province. It takes a long time to get through the budget process,” she said.
“We shouldn’t rush that process. Now we have two months. I’d rather have more than less.”
