Manitoba deficit hits $1.3 billion
CTV
Manitoba is projecting a higher than anticipated deficit for the year.
Manitoba's projected deficit has ballooned by half a billion dollars. A financial update Monday now projects the province to have a $1.3 billion shortfall.
The main culprit is over-expenditures in health care, which is leading to an audit of regional health authorities (RHAs).
The previous forecast was $796 million.
"While we've been able to make progress in reducing the deficit, there are challenges ahead," said Adrien Sala, the Minister of Finance, who was referring to the near $2 billion hole last year.
"We've got more work to do. There's always more work to do and continue to improve, but what we know is that this is a massive improvement over what we were left."
The health-care overruns came in at $438 million, with $230 million of that coming from RHAs.
The findings from the audits are expected to be shared in the new year with suggestions on how to save money.
