Savings will be invested in people, Clark tells chamber
This week’s provincial budget invests in people through mental health funding, and job growth through increased education in the technology sector and by cutting MSP fees, Premier Christy Clark told a Kelowna Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Friday.
In the provincial budget, tabled Tuesday, $123 million was designated for the ministry of advanced education, with a focus on expanding the technology sector, said Clark, the MLA for Westside Kelowna.
“The focus is on making sure that we are producing graduates in areas of technology that will help us grow our tech economy.”
Much of that growth will be in the Okanagan, she said.
“The plans are here, invest in education for technology so we can attract more tech companies to the region.”
Clark also praised the province’s job plan, created in 2011.
“I believe that having a job is just about the most important thing in anyone’s life,” she said.
“Since 2011, we have stuck with our plan, and have gone from ninth in job growth in the country to being No. 1 in Canada.”
The budget also allocates money for mental-health initiatives, including support for people with addictions.
“A portion of the $100 million for mental health will go to preventative identification of mental-health issues early in children, and a portion of it is also going to go to the health care system to make sure we
We need to stop trying to deal with homelessness and addiction after people are homeless and addicted if we can. Premier Christy Clark
are improving the treatment for people who are struggling with it today (and) also the post-treatment support that they need,” said Clark.
Dealing with mental-health issues also addresses the issue of homelessness, she said.
“What we know is that if someone is homeless and addicted, they probably have an underlying mental health issue,” said Clark.
“We need to stop trying to deal with homelessness and addiction after people are homeless and addicted if we can. I would argue the best way to support fewer people becoming homeless is to support them in dealing with their mental illness before it becomes acute.”
The breakdown on where that money will be distributed across the province will be coming in the coming weeks, but “some of it” will be coming to the Okanagan, she said.
Clark also highlighted plans to cut Medical Service Plan fees in half, which is expected to save families with a net annual income of up to $120,000 about $900 a year.
“The reason we’ve been focused on this is because I profoundly believe that you can make better decisions about how to spend your money than government can,” said Clark.
“The second step will be to eliminate MSP altogether, which I think is the most unprogressive, unfair tax that we levy in British Columbia. The sooner we can get rid of it, the happier I’m going to be.”
The government chose not to eliminate MSP immediately because the $2.4 billion revenue from MSP fees exceeded the $2 billion surplus, said Clark.
“We could have taken all of that $2 billion and almost entirely get rid of MSP in one shot, but it would have meant we wouldn’t have had any money left for the money into health care and the money into education that we really felt we needed,” she said.
“Depending on the outcome of the election . . . I promise you we’re going to work hard to make sure we grow (the economy) as fast as we can and eliminate MSP as fast as we can.”