Finance Minister Katrine Conroy (centre) speaks at last week's Union of B.C. Municipalities convention. (Image Credit: Flickr / Province of B.C.)

By Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: NDP spending fails to move the needle on affordability

Sep 29, 2023 | 10:44 AM

THE COST OF LIVING — from food to gas to housing — has become a daily topic of conversation in B.C. Everyone recognizes that life is getting more expensive, and everyone is feeling the growing stress of making ends meet in the face of these rising costs.

Inflation is taking a real toll on people. Over 50 per cent of households in B.C. are less than $200 away from insolvency at the end of each month. Living this way is not sustainable and people are turning to government, wondering what the NDP is doing to address these significant challenges.

Unfortunately, David Eby and his government don’t have good news for those looking for relief. In fact, the recent quarterly report on B.C.’s finances revealed that the NDP’s spending has increased the deficit by $2.5 billion, bringing the total forecast deficit to $6.7 billion. That’s a massive increase in just a few months’ time.

This astounding figure raises numerous questions about the NDP’s ability to budget and spend taxpayers’ money wisely. However, the main question on my mind when hearing this news is, how are British Columbians benefiting from these billions of dollars being spent by government every year?

It’s clear David Eby and the NDP are shoveling more money out the door than ever before, but looking around, it’s impossible to believe that this increase in spending is having a genuine positive impact on everyday people.

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: December 12, 2024

16h ago

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: North Shore BIA working hard to develop a 'happening place'

22h ago

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Moons

Dec 10, 2024

How can David Eby and his government justify a deficit of billions of dollars when gas prices continue to increase, housing prices have reached record highs, and it’s getting more difficult than ever for people to put food on the table for their families?

The answer to the significant challenges facing our province surely isn’t throwing more money at the problem. If that was the case, we would have seen positive change years ago, but instead we’ve seen the opposite.

Worryingly, projections for next year don’t look any more encouraging, with the economy expected to slow down and GDP growth to shrink.

Despite what the NDP try to argue, it’s becoming clear that it’s their actual policies and strategies that simply aren’t working — they do not know how to deliver on their promises. I think many people in this government have good intentions and truly want to make life better for people, but with each day that passes it becomes clearer than ever that they simply do not know how to make it a reality.

It’s mystifying that they have managed to rack up a deficit of billions of dollars and yet our healthcare system remains in a state of crisis. Emergency departments across the province regularly close due to staffing challenges, patients are being sent to the U.S. for treatment, and nearly a million British Columbians don’t have a family doctor.

This government is spending more on infrastructure than ever before and yet projects are years behind schedule and smaller in scope. They’re spending millions on social housing and yet more people than ever are homeless. No amount of money from the NDP seems to be making a difference on crime or the mental health and addictions crisis putting people in our communities at risk.

Going forward, government needs to make smarter spending decisions, investing in people, and taking steps that address the problems that British Columbians face everyday. Hopefully, the NDP realizes sooner than later that their current approach just isn’t working — it’s time for effective change and real action.

——

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