Finance Minister Carole James is forecasting a 12.5-billion dollar deficit this fiscal year due to staggering losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. James had predicted no deficit in February but says the entire world changed mere weeks after she introduced her budget for fiscal 2020. She says B-C has lost more than 230-thousand jobs and predicts economic growth will contract by 6.8 per cent by the end of the year. In addition to lost revenue, the province has also provided 6.26-billion dollars in financial aid to businesses and individuals hard hit by the COVID-19 crisis.
