ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - With an election set for October, Newfoundland and Labrador's premier asked voters to stick with his Liberal government in his annual state-of-the-province speech.
Premier Dwight Ball urged the public to ignore the "noise and fiction" he said was expected from his political opponents in a speech to Rotary Club members in St. John's on Thursday.
Ball said a recent Conference Board of Canada report predicting the province will lead the country in GDP growth in 2019 speaks to his government's accomplishments.
The premier painted his government as trustworthy compared to the provincial Conservatives, who sanctioned the controversial Muskrat Falls hydro megaproject, currently the subject of a public inquiry into cost and schedule overruns.
Ball didn't share a specific plan to tackle electricity rates that are expected to double when Muskrat Falls starts providing full power in 2021, but said the Public Utilities Board and his government are researching "options" to deal with the challenge.
He asked voters to trust him to handle any discussions if the province requests Ottawa's help to ease the looming financial burden of Muskrat Falls, over the Conservatives who sanctioned the controversial project.
