VICTORIA — Opposition parties in the BC legislature have expressed their displeasure with the budget tabled by the BC NDP, which projects a record-breaking deficit of $13.3 billion.Both the BC Conservatives and BC Greens slammed the government for not doing enough to provide relief for ordinary British Columbians.During a speech in the legislature, BC Conservative Finance Critic Peter Milobar argued that the budget disproportionately impacts seniors and small business owners, citing proposed additions to the list of products and services subject to the provincial sales tax. Among them are landlines, cable television, clothing repair materials, accounting, bookkeeping, and private security.The moves put BC in line with a number of other provinces, but Milobar made it clear he believed justifying decisions based on comparisons to other jurisdictions was no way to govern."The reality is, we weren't paying it — we are now," he told reporters at the legislature. "That would be like Alberta saying they're gonna charge 7% PST on everything because they don't charge PST and BC does."Milobar went on to suggest that when it comes to finding revenue sources, the BC NDP hasn't exhibited much "creativity." He claimed the 0.5% increase to the first tax bracket above $149,000 was evidence of "a government desperate to find dollars.".Milobar said he doesn't see how any wing of the BC NDP could look at the budget and be pleased with what they see."I don't know how the social justice arm of the caucus is happy with this budget," he argued. "I don't know how the environmental arm of the NDP would be happy with this budget — the ministry of environment literally has a cut this year. Their labour arm is hearing 15,000 job cuts over the next couple years ... I have a hard time believing its a happy day in the BC NDP caucus room.".Many of Milobar's sentiments were echoed by BC Greens Finance Critic Rob Botterell, who said he and his party were "really disappointed" by what the government put forward..Botterell argued that the BC NDP should have done more to tackle wealth inequality, noting that BC is still tied with Alberta when it comes to having the lowest taxes for the ultra-wealthy."Maintaining the status quo is insufficient," he said. "The status quo is closed ERs, schools without resources, inequality growing by the day, and as [Milobar] just mentioned, there's huge impacts of this budget on seniors, ... on small business, and many others."He, like his BC Conservative colleague, described the BC NDP as "out of ideas, out of ambition," and a government that "doesn't have the courage to take the steps to create a path to a balanced budget to support the services.""What we wanna see is actual, decisive action and that will be what informs our questions in estimates and position on the budget," Botterell added. "The fundamental point is we need to take a new approach and this is a status quo budget that is not making the changes that are needed so everybody in British Columbia can have the lifestyle they deserve.".BC budget projects $13.3B deficit for 2026-27 — largest in province's history.In the budget, expenses are listed at $98.8 billion, with revenue sitting at $85.5 billion. Taxpayer-supported capital investments are set at $38 billion.
