It’s a big-spending interim budget the NDP delivered to the legislature on Monday, with lots of new money coming for a variety of social services – education, mental health, poverty reduction and housing.
It’s made largely possible by the coffers being left so full by the previous B.C. Liberal government.
You could credit the Liberals for their fiscal prudence during the economic good times but in a very real way, it was the people who rely on government services that were paying the price for our big surpluses. They were the ones sleeping on streets, dealing with closed public schools or having to choose between medicine or hydro bills to get by.
We believe it’s time to start patching the holes in the social safety net we as Canadians are so proud of.
Even the Liberals, from their new seats on the Opposition benches, acknowledged that British Columbians had delivered a message that it was time for the province to reinvest in the public good. But they also warned the NDP not to treat the budget like a blank cheque. It’s prudent advice.
The last government benefitted greatly from unprecedented revenues in real estate transactions. But with potential trade disputes with the U.S. on the horizon or sudden cooling in the real estate market, we could find ourselves with some very expensive commitments and a lot of expensive campaign promises yet to be kept without the windfall to pay for them. Our neighbours in Alberta are learning some hard lessons about what happens when you take for granted that the good times will last forever.
All we ask is that our new government be prepared, for good times and bad.
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