Liberals Refuse to Provide Full Financial Picture Ahead of Election: Paddock

 

 

For Immediate Release

 

St. John’s, NL (August 21, 2025) – Lin Paddock, Progressive Conservative Shadow Minister of Finance and MHA for Baie Verte – Green Bay, is calling on the Liberal Government to be more transparent on critical financial questions after releasing a rushed and incomplete fiscal update.

“Our Leader Tony Wakeham was correct when he said: The Liberals rushed a press release out the door to avoid any real financial accountability. The Liberals’ fiscal update is short on detail and has no rigor. They simply rushed to tick a box before the election,” said Paddock.

Paddock said a true financial update ought to have been more transparent to Newfoundland and Labrador residents, and with clear answers to pressing questions, including:

  • The Liberals note that ‘expense pressures exist’ but they have not detailed what these pressures are or the value. Wildfire suppression and subsequent recovery must be aggressively pursued, but are there other cost pressures?
  • The Liberal’s report specifically references cost pressures in healthcare, yet the Liberals have not given any detail.
  • No departmental-level detail was provided, only a short four-page slide overview.
  • How much has been spent this year on travel nurses from outside the province?
  • How much has been spent on the Comfort Inn?
  • How much has been given out in secret Liberal bonuses? The Liberal Cabinet knew the deficit situation, yet they still approved giving themselves bonuses.
  • How much more have the Liberals spent on announcements, that was not included in their budget?
  • The Liberals included $520 million in revenue in their budget from the tobacco legal settlement. How much, if any, has been received thus far? If that money is not received, then the deficit will further increase and substantially.
  • How much has been spent out of the Contingency Fund? The Liberals did not include the contingency fund in their deficit calculation, so they must be transparent now with the people of our Province on how much has been spent.

“Without answers to these questions and greater financial detail, we are unable to ascertain if the Liberal deficit figure is correct. In fact, we believe the deficit could be much, much higher,” Paddock said. “On the eve of the election, the Liberals are downplaying and trying to deflect the true financial picture. Enough is enough, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians now need a government that will be truly open and transparent with taxpayer funds.”

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