Highlights of Budget 2024

No new taxes or fee increases.

Maintain the 80.5 per cent reduction on the gas tax. A 50 per cent reduction on truck and taxi registration.

Continuing the 50 per cent reduction off the cost of registering passenger vehicles, trucks and taxis.

Free driver medicals for people 75 and older.

Maintaining the home heating supplement of up to $500 to residents who rely on furnace or stove oil to heat their home.

$85 million for the Income Supplement.

$70.3 million for the Seniors’ Benefit, which includes the 15 per cent increase over the last two years. This benefit helps 50,000 seniors aged 65 or older.

$130 million for the provincial-federal fuel switching and energy efficiency incentive.

No home insurance tax.

Support business by reducing red tape.

The government will contribute $72.8 million to the future fund, which is added to the $358.8 million already in the fund.

Expects a surplus next year.
 

Increasing MUN's operating grant.

Money to revitalize school bus fleet.

$41 million in 2024-25 and $146.1 million over three years for new schools in Cartwright, Kenmount Terrace, Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, and Pilley’s Island, as well as $50,000 for planning of a new high school in Paradise.

$30.1 million over the next five years to revitalize the fleet of school buses.

Close to $20 million for the elimination of the 1.6-kilometre policy to access school bus services, ensuring students have safe and reliable transportation to and from school. This will positively impact students and families.

Close to $3 million to increase student assistant hours and hire more student assistants, for the equivalent of 104 full-time student assistant positions.

$3 million to expand school food programming in all Pre-Kindergarten programs and K-9 schools, beginning in 2024 in schools with the highest need.

$3 million increase in the teaching services budget to help meet the needs of a growing student population. This will bring the total budget to in excess of $560 million.

Close to $1 million to support a new assessment and evaluation framework for high school students, as well as acquisition of a computer- based testing platform to implement high school literacy and numeracy assessments.

$850,000 to provide targeted recruitment and retention initiatives for positions in hard-to-fill rural, remote, and isolated areas of the province.

$75,000 for 75 scholarships to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Confederation and improve access to post-secondary education.
 

$10 million for recruitment and retention of nurses.

An additional $2 million to increase the number of Faculty of Medicine seats for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

More than $500,000 for a new nursing mentorship program for experienced nurses to mentor our nursing graduates.

$30 million to hire healthcare providers.

$620 million over ten years for a new health information system.

More than $14 million to expand options for individuals seeking help for mental health and addictions.

$1.5 million to expand the mobile crisis response teams to include communities and surrounding areas of Sheshatshiu, Stephenville, Twillingate, New World Island, Burin, Clarenville, and Conception Bay North.

$900,000 to expand the Harm Reduction Team to improve care for vulnerable individuals.

$1.5 million so the Gathering Place can continue to assist vulnerable individuals with services such as health care, dental care, and counselling when they need it most.

$1.39 million for mobile primary care clinics to travel to communities with limited access to primary care.

$600,000 to implement a mobile X-ray pilot project to bring services to long-term care homes and personal care homes.

$6.5 million to operationalize a fourth cardiac catheterization suite.

Almost $1.8 million for an expanded continuous glucose monitoring program for patients with type 1 diabetes up to the age of 25 who are enrolled in the NL Insulin Pump Program and pregnant people with gestational diabetes.

$10 million to expand virtual care services to increase access to primary care and emergency care, and complement family care teams, emergency departments, and urgent care care clinics.

$1.2 million for endoscopy services across the province.

$1.2 million for more beds at Clare’s Mercy Hospital to increase surgical capacity and further reduce wait lists.

$4.3 million to establish integrated youth service sites.