Breaking down the provincial budget update

Irecall in 1972 the election of B.C.’s first NDP government. My friend’s mom had voted for the new government against the wishes of her husband. That was a thing then – discussed openly. She chose to vote against his persuasions. Today I honestly can’t imagine a man who would think he could tell his wife how to vote, but in those days it happened.

The update to the 2017 provincial budget, originally crafted by the previous Liberal government offered a first glimpse at the shift in direction that the eight-week old NDP government promises to deliver with the support of the Green Party. In this respect, this update packs more than a regular mid-year review. Largely borrowed from my colleagues at RBC Economics, this article outlines the key changes being launched. of spending initiatives which put the NDP stamp on provincial finances, allocating $660 million in 2017-18 – rising to $900 million in 2019-20.

Chief among these were the elimination of bridge tolls ($224 million in 2017-18), increasing funding for education ($177 million), boosting social assistance rates ($104 million), more money to address the fentanyl crisis ($67 million) and increasing investment in housing ($14 million). These initiatives were on top of previously announced $669 million to support wildfire emergency response this year. lion’s share of the $1.3 billion increase relative to 2016-17. The three-year capital investment plan for self-supported entities (commercial crown corporations) is revised downwardly by $2.3 billion relative to the February budget to $8.5 billion. The revision reflects the cancellation of the George Massey Tunnel by the Transportation Investment Corporation.

BC Hydro’s $8.8 billion Site C clean energy project is still a go so far.