Liberal government had originally proposed a bill that would let the government keep spending despite not having passed a budget.

Hundreds marched in St. John's Friday in protest of the provincial government's austerity measures.

Taxpayers in Newfoundland and Labrador will bear the brunt of a budget that hikes HST and gas taxes, cuts jobs and imposes "temporary" income-based levies to fight a deficit that will still reach almost $2 billion.