September 28, 2012

PROVINCE RELEASES PUBLIC ACCOUNTS FOR 2011-12 FISCAL YEAR

Manitoba’s financial results showed a modest improvement over projections in last year’s third quarter report, Finance Minister Stan Struthers announced today as he released Manitoba’s public accounts for 2011-12.
“Last year was unlike any other in Manitoba’s history.  We faced a flood of unprecedented scale, saw growing pressures in the frontlines of child welfare and corrections, all in the midst of a sluggish global economic recovery, and we came through it a little better than expected,” said Struthers.  “These challenges are still with us, but this is a modest improvement.”
The minister said the final expenses are lower than third quarter forecast, as costs associated with the flood were finalized, reducing last year’s deficit to $999 million, an increase of $561 million over projections contained in Budget 2011.
 Key results from these 2011-2012 reports include:

• a $121-million improvement on the deficit projected at the third quarter, and
• a $333-million improvement on the Summary Net Debt projections of the third quarter.

“There remains uncertainty for economies everywhere, but we’ll tackle the challenges ahead of us, the way we always have:  with a balanced approach that’s focused on the things that matter most to families,” said Struthers.
Information on the first quarter financial report will be released on Monday.
More information can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/finance.

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