Yesterday’s federal budget unfortunately raises far more questions than answers when it comes to whether or not it will benefit Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Our government remains concerned about the lack of any Newfoundland and Labrador projects being named in the federal government’s list of nation building projects. A brief mention of Churchill Falls and Gull Island is not the same as a commitment to invest in our province.

It also appears that the Atlantic Fisheries Fund and jobs at DFO are potentially on the chopping block. If Ottawa is going to continue to reject our requests to jointly manage the fishery, then they need to be able to make the case that they are doing their job. Cutting DFO does not send a positive message to our fishing industry.

With that said, there are broad commitments that we hope will open the door for opportunities here in the province.

There was language that seemed to indicate an openness to removing the emissions cap, which would be good news for our oil and gas sector.

There were also large dollar amounts committed for infrastructure and defence spending. I trust that the federal government will want to make sure that Newfoundland and Labrador get our fair share of this national spending.

Later this month I plan to travel to Ottawa to meet with relevant Ministers on issues important to our province. I hope to gain clarity during that trip about exactly how Ottawa plans to invest in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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