Finance Minister Selina Robinson delivers the B.C. budget, April 20, 2021 (Image Credit: Flickr / Government of BC)

By Finance Minister Selina Robinson

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: By investing in people, BC will emerge from COVID-19 stronger than ever

Apr 21, 2021 | 10:28 AM

COVID-19 HAS PROVEN TO BE the biggest public health crisis we have experienced in our lifetime.

It has been hard on people, businesses and communities, and for those who have lost loved ones to the virus, it has been a time of tragedy. But through it all, we have seen remarkable resilience from people, businesses and communities.

While case counts remain high, there are signs of hope here in BC as we make progress on our plan to vaccinate every adult who wants one by the end of June.

Even though the hospitality and tourism sectors are still dealing with the impact of public health measures needed to keep us safe, we have added jobs for 11 straight months, making British Columbia a national economic leader in employment growth once again.

After declining in 2020 due to the pandemic, B.C.’s real GDP is forecast to grow by 4.4 per cent in 2021 and 3.8 per cent in 2022, reaching pre-pandemic levels by next year.

Two and Out

PETERS: Whether building up or tearing down, Kamloops is what you make it

6h ago

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: How to reduce food waste in Kamloops during the festive season

13h ago

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: December 12, 2024

Dec 12, 2024

That did not happen by accident.

Throughout the pandemic, we have weathered the economic storm caused by COVID-19 because our government has invested in our province’s most important asset: its people.

When COVID-19 hit, our government moved quickly to provide relief for renters, middle-class families, hard-hit businesses and vulnerable people.

Budget 2021 builds on that foundation by focusing on protecting people’s health and livelihoods through the pandemic, while supporting people and businesses and ensuring we are ready to seize the opportunities recovery will offer.

As we continue to support people through the pandemic and into recovery, we will ensure we take every step to make sure people are healthy and safe.

That is why we are investing $900 million in new health care funding for testing, contract tracing, personal protective equipment and the largest vaccine rollout in B.C.’s history.

We are making new investments to fix cracks in the health system that were exposed during the pandemic and that emerged after 16 years of neglect under the previous government.

This includes investing in seniors care, delivering needed mental health and addictions supports and reducing surgical and diagnostic wait lists, all while moving forward on new urgent and primary care centres so people can get the health care they need where they live.

Budget 2021 also makes historic investments to support people and businesses still dealing with the impacts of the pandemic.

We are helping families by building more child care spaces and doubling the number of spaces available at $10 per day, while also doubling the wage enhancement for early childhood educators.

We are also creating 400 more spaces through the Aboriginal Head Start Program that provides culturally-based care for Indigenous families.

As many as 80,000 low-income seniors will see their seniors supplement increase for the first time ever and we are also delivering on our commitment to permanently increase income assistance and disability rates.

We are supporting businesses with a suite of grants and funding to help them adapt and seize the opportunities that recovery will offer. This includes ensuring tourism businesses and communities are supported through the pandemic and are ready to thrive when visitors can safely return.

In addition to supporting people and businesses through the pandemic, we are making strategic investments that will allow us to emerge from the pandemic even stronger.

We are creating 85,000 jobs through a record investment in infrastructure and will help thousands of others find employment in health care and other sectors through post-secondary education and training.

We are also building 9,000 new homes for middle-income British Columbians through a $2 billion investment in the HousingHub at BC Housing, providing tourism businesses and communities with dedicated supports, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building a cleaner, brighter future with $506 million invested in CleanBC, North America’s most progressive climate plan.

We are helping rural and remote communities by improving connectivity and are creating a new a new strategic investment fund to help B.C. businesses deliver economic, environmental and social returns.

As is the case with everything we do, our budget also recognizes the work that began with passing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act must lead to a future of true partnership and shared decision-making.

Throughout the pandemic, our collective resilience has helped us weather the challenges we have faced. While there is still much work to do together, I am confident that we will emerge even stronger because we are building a recovery where everyone benefits.

——

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.