The British Columbia government’s Budget 2023 will see more money going towards healthcare, affordable housing, and growing a clean economy. .But it will run a large deficit..“BC is a great place to live, but people are facing real challenges — not only from global inflation and the pandemic, but from ongoing and systemic challenges,” said British Columbia Finance Minister Katrine Conroy in a Tuesday press release..“This year’s budget helps protect people who can’t afford today’s high prices and takes action on the issues people care about, like finding affordable housing and accessing healthcare.”.The release said about $6.4 billion in new spending over three years will go towards strengthening public healthcare and helping people find and stay connected to the supports they need. It said this includes funding to improve cancer care, building up the healthcare workforce with new training spots, and expanding supports for healthcare workers and family doctors. .Budget 2023 will provide $4.2 billion in operating and capital funding over three years — the largest three-year housing spending in BC history — for renters, indigenous people, and middle class families and new actions to tackle homelessness. .The release went on to say BC is helping to ensure safe communities by boosting funding by more than $462 million over the fiscal plan for policing, enforcement, intervention services, and access to justice. .About $1.3 billion in new spending over three years will support reduced costs for people. This includes free prescription contraception for BC residents; expanding K-12 school food programs; and providing more financial supports for post-secondary students, people on social benefits, and foster families and other caregivers. .The release continued by saying moderate- and low-income renters will be eligible for as much as $400 per year through a renter’s tax credit starting in 2024. It projected the credit will help 80% of renter households. .The Climate Action Tax Credit will be expanded to assist people with low and moderate incomes offset the carbon tax, which increases in April to meet federal requirements as part of the transition to a low-carbon future. The release said the majority of people are expected to receive more through the enhanced credit than what they pay in an increased carbon tax. .It said Budget 2023 focuses on ways to manage and care for the province’s natural resources to support economic prosperity aligned with environmental, social, and cultural objectives. New funding will allow communities to develop more active transportation and support them to adapt and prepare for climate-related emergencies. .This year’s budget supports the Future Ready plan to make post-secondary education and skills training more affordable and accessible and address labour shortages. Future Ready will add thousands of training seats and offer a new grant for short-term training programs to get people trained and working in high-demand fields. .Conroy said the BC government knows “there are some economic headwinds ahead of us as the global economy shifts in response to the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and rising costs.”.“That’s not a signal for our government to pull back and cut services — it’s a signal that we need to keep making smart investments so that we can continue to be there for British Columbians and build the stronger, more secure future we all want,” said Conroy. .Budget 2023’s three-year fiscal plan presents declining deficits, with a projected $4.2 billion deficit in 2023-2024 and $3 billion in 2025-2026. .The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) criticized the budget for turning a large surplus into years of deficits. .“The government is mismanaging provincial finances with big deficits and no plan to balance the budget,” said CTF BC Director Carson Binda. .“The budget shows Premier David Eby wants to run a credit card government.”.Binda said interest charges on the debt will cost British Columbians more than $3 billion this year. He said this is billions of dollars which “can’t be used to hire more nurses or lower taxes because it’s going to the bond fund managers on Bay Street.”.This budget comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with all 13 premiers on February 7 to determine how much money the Canadian government will give to the provinces for healthcare. .READ MORE: Trudeau meets with premiers over healthcare deal."Canadians are proud of our universal public healthcare system, but we all have to recognize it hasn't been delivering at the level that Canadians would expect," said Trudeau. .The Canadian government is proposing to increase the Canada Health Transfer and sign separate bilateral funding agreements with each province and territory, but Ottawa said the money must target certain areas such as primary care and mental health. It wants the provinces to improve their data collection to better track healthcare outcomes.
