Highlights of Budget 2024

The provincial government released budget 2024 today.

Despite the protests outside, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance Siobhan Coady tabled the budget at 2:00 p.m.

Here are some of the highlights:

• 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.
  

Education

• 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.
  

Health

• $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.