Image Credit: The Canadian Press

By Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Budget 2020 — A flop for rural communities

Feb 20, 2020 | 3:42 PM

THE LAST TWO WEEKS since MLAs have returned to the legislature have been marked by major protests and high drama. Hundreds gathered at the legislature, many not even knowing exactly what for, to disrupt the Speech from the Throne.

Budget day in Victoria was a different story, however, as hundreds of forestry workers from throughout British Columbia gathered in hopes of receiving some show of support from John Horgan and the NDP. Instead, workers and their families were met with shallow words from the forestry minister and no desperately needed funding in Budget 2020. The budget mentions a paltry $13 million going toward the industry — however, it’s all previously allocated funding with nothing new delivered.

In fact, rural B.C. was largely left out of Budget 2020 as a whole. The Rural Dividend Fund — which government plundered last year to make up for budget shortfalls — was not reinstated despite a promise from government it would be. And on top of forestry communities being left without support, additionally, all the other natural resource ministries received funding cuts or freezes as well. At a time of crisis, Forests Lands and Natural Resources had their budget slashed by $106 million and Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources took a $66 million cut. Ouch.

The NDP made it clear they have no vision to grow the economy and no plan to increase economic opportunity. According to the NDP’s own budget documents, British Columbia will continue to see a streak of full-time job losses in the private sector, adding to the 32,800 already lost over the last eight months.

Adding to existing financial stress, families across the province will increasingly feel the squeeze. With 23 new or increased taxes — including a new tax on your streaming services like Netflix and Spotify — the amount paid in taxes per household in B.C. will have increased by over $2,363 under this NDP government.

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Despite promising big housing investments, Budget 2020 all but ignores many promises made to voters by the NDP. No mention of the $400 annual renters’ rebate and no indication they will be able to deliver on their promised 114,000 affordable homes. So far, the NDP have only managed to deliver two per cent of their goal and at this rate, it will take them 100 years to fulfil their promise. Anyone looking to buy a first-time home will still find entering the market out of reach.

After two weeks of listening to a lot of rhetoric and seeing a lot of self-congratulatory pats-on-the-back from the NDP, I am left with a sense of disappointment. It’s apparent the NDP have abandoned key promises and have given British Columbians little in return. Budget 2020 encapsulates the shortcomings of the NDP, with broken promises and increasing taxes in the place of actual action on behalf of all of British Columbia.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.