Manitoba government set to release 2017 budget in April

The Manitoba government will table their 2017 budget on April 11.

Finance Minister Cameron Friesen announced the date alongside the co-chairs of the advisory panel on fiscal performance, the group that will be advising the province on budget decisions.

“This budget upcoming has to include some tough measures, where we’re at is not sustainable,” said Friesen.

The government is trying to reduce a deficit that some estimates have put near $1 billion.

Janice MacKinnon, a former Saskatchewan finance minister, is one of the co-chairs of the advisory panel which has been reviewing two audits commissioned by the province on the finances and the health care system.

She said the panel will focus on three key areas: controlling spending, efficiently leveraging assets and raising revenue.

The other co-chair, former Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Dave Angus, said the provincial payroll is approximately $10 billion and eats up around 70 per cent of all provincial expenditures.

“It’s a significant part of the cost structure of our budget and it’s certainly something that we’re taking a look at,” said Angus.

So far the government has met with the panel four times.

The two audits the panel is reviewing have not been released to the public.