In the provincial government’s first quarterly report, it announced that its $12 million surplus is now a deficit of $349 million. However, a potential hole from the industrial carbon tax in its forecasted revenue could double the deficit.
In the forecasted revenue, it shows a line for the Output Based Performance Standards (OBPS) Program, more commonly known as the industrial carbon tax. It forecasts a revenue of $466 million, however, the province says it has not been collecting any of that tax.
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According to the government, the line must still be included in the report as the OBPS program was put into legislation due to the federal requirement to have it. It cannot be removed until the federal legislation for it changes.
This creates a potential future hole of $466 million to add to the existing deficit, bringing to total deficit until roughly $815 million.
Katherine Ludwig has the full details in the video above.