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British Columbia’s finance minister says this year’s upcoming budget is focused on protecting core services, but added it is a budget that is neither full of big cuts nor a large rise in taxes.
Brenda Bailey told reporters during a pre-budget presentation Sunday that the budget was one crafted for “very serious times.”
“There are many who have expressed to me that now is the time to make big cuts and bring the deficit down quickly and there are others who strongly hold the view we should be raising taxes and doubling down on providing even more services than we’re doing right now, and this budget is neither of those things,” Bailey said.
Bailey’s comments come days after Shannon Salter, deputy minister to Premier David Eby, said in an email that B.C. has an “unsustainable provincial budget deficit.”
A recent background briefing authorized by the premier’s office and delivered to reporters noted that the deficit is too high, but the government is committed to protecting core services while creating financial room for any unforeseen economic eventualities.
Current forecasts peg the provincial deficit at $11.2 billion.
Asked if this year’s deficit would be higher or lower than last year’s, Bailey said she would talk about it in the budget but said the plan is for it to decrease year over year and something that will “take time.”
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The minister told reporters that the government has been investing in building for the province – ranging from new hospitals and schools to post-secondary education and housing – something they plan to protect with the budget.
She said those investments would continue, with education and health care named as the primary core services the government aims to protect. She added that commitments have also been made to public safety, noting recent investments to tackle extortion threats in places like Surrey, B.C.
Bailey said she recognizes the need to bring the deficit down.
Though she would not give a number, she credited attrition in the public service for a reduction of 1,000 full-time equivalent positions (FTEs) and said “that work goes further” in the budget.
“We need to go further than we’ve been able to go so far and you’ll see that reflected in the budget,” Bailey said.
Eby has previously said the government would continue to reduce the size of the public sector.
The opposition Conservatives have said the provincial debt has “exploded” under Eby. When he took office in 2022/23, the debt was $89.4 billion, the Conservatives said in a release, but it is now projected to top $155 billion this fiscal year.
Conservative finance critic Peter Milobar said recently that questions need to be raised as to where all the money has gone.
“When the government is previewing cuts and new difficulties for families in the upcoming budget, it’s a question that must be asked,” Milobar said in a release. “Under this Eby government, announcements haven’t translated into actions or outcomes.”
Sunday’s preview of the budget was the first real glimpse into what was coming. The speech from the throne, delivered this past week, focused on helping the community of Tumbler Ridge recover after a school shooting left nine people dead, including the killer. Six of the victims were under 13 years old, five of whom died at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
Bailey was asked Sunday about supports for the community, including a new school after it was decided students would not return to the building following the shooting.
She said that the budget had been “in the can” prior to Tuesday’s tragedy, but said there is a contingency fund available for unexpected needs. She said either contingencies would be used to help the community, or adjustments would be made in the education budget, noting commitments have been made by the government.
The budget, which Bailey described as “disciplined, focused and serious,” is set to be delivered Tuesday.
—with files from The Canadian Press
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