P.E.I. government's public budget consultations come to a close

The deadline for Islanders to have their say on the provincial budget is drawing to a close and Finance Minister Allen Roach says the public submission numbers are way up compared to last year.

"Two things that we're hearing is that don't do too much one way or the other in terms of taxes or in terms of government cuts that might hurt services," he said.

• P.E.I. government wants public input on balancing provincial budget
• Proposed HST hike gets little traction on P.E.I.

In January, the government asked the public to share their ideas on how they felt the government should overcome its current deficit and balance the provincial budget.

Thursday was the last day for pre-budget presentations to the P.E.I. government and the deadline for written submissions is Friday.

According to the province, the budget deficit stands at $32.9 million as of September 2015, and its multi-year fiscal plan forecasts a surplus of $11.9 million in the 2016-17 budget.

"We're hearing that for the better part, people are still saying we want to see a balanced budget. I'm getting that both from the public and from business," Roach said.

Roach says he's hearing mixed views on whether or not the HST should be increased.

He says the government has still not made a decision on the matter.