NDP ambitions come with costs
Last week, the NDP presented their first Speech from the Throne. Formally, the throne speech is presented by the Lieutenant-Governor, the Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC, but it is the government’s document written for her by the party in power.
If there is one theme the government emphasized in this year’s Throne Speech, it was the title Working for You. This government wants the working people of B.C. to understand it is on their side.
“British Columbians work hard every day to build a better life for themselves and their families. They deserve a government that’s working for them.” is the sentiment carrying through much of the document.
It goes on to say: “British Columbians have made their priorities clear. After years of rising living costs and stagnant wages, they expect government to make life more affordable. British Columbians want better public services, like quality health care for patients and a world-class education system that sets up our children for success. And British Columbians expect to share in the economic prosperity B.C. enjoys.”
“Here, here!” cry the working people of this province.
We all pay for government through taxes, fees and royalties. We expect to get back out the things we need such as appropriate levels of medical care where we live and a chance for anyone, young or old, to improve their situation through education.
Those of us not living in the Vancouver/Victoria corridor expect to have access to doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, and other health related profession at the same level as those living in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
To do this, we need to educate professionals in the region. Our children deserve the opportunity to get an education which will set them up for the future. They need to have access to educational opportunities which are not limited because of where they live. This, to me, is what sharing in the economic prosperity of the province means. If all of the wealth flows to people living in West Vancouver, then we will always be a province divided between the affluent city and the rural regions.
We will be an analogy for the Hunger Games with its Capitol and 12 Districts.
Of course, the fundamental question is “what can government do to make life more affordable?”
The Throne Speech illustrates some of the first steps the government is taking such as cutting Medical Services Premiums in half and putting up to $900 per year back into the pockets of working people while reducing the studentload interest rate by 2.5 per cent so graduates can get out of debt more quickly. Both are admirable first steps. The government has also eliminated tuition for Adult Basic Education and English Language Learning which is further evidence of their desire for a welleducated population. Nothing changes an economy as much as educational opportunity.
But the Throne Speech points to removing the unfair bridge tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges as evidence of making life more affordable for British Columbians. Well, yes, certainly for those commuters who need to use those bridges but what about the rest of the province which is now going to have to pay for them? And the government is considering a new $1.4 billion Pattullo Bridge which will be paid for out of provincial coffers. No question these are critical infrastructure improvements. It is just a little strange to use removing bridge tolls as an indication of making life more affordable for all British Columbians. I am pretty sure the increases in debt servicing costs which everyone not a commuter will need to pay will either result in an increase in taxes or a decrease in funds available for much needed services.
It is stretching the language to say eliminating the tolls on these bridges is making life more affordable for all British Columbians.
In any case, the Throne Speech is the start of what will likely be a long process and it does promise the “government will do even more to make life more affordable and create opportunity for people” in the months and years to come.
It is also a little dangerous to complain about infrastructure improvements in the Lower Mainland when we are in need of a new surgical wing at the UHNBC. I am sure people in Vancouver will have trouble understanding why we need more access to medical care in the north. “Why can’t we just fly down to Vancouver?” might well be their response.
The Throne Speech goes on to discuss housing (“The single, greatest challenge to affordability”), child care, and economic opportunity. It does not mention LNG once – a nod to Andrew Weaver. And it finishes on a high note saying “It’s about people.”
But it is this week’s budget which will tell us where the government’s priorities truly lie.