B.C. Liberals’ promise to not leave debt for our kids is ‘misleading’

At nearly every campaign stop, B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark tells her supporters her government will “make sure we don’t leave our children with a debt.” But a CBC Fact Check shows that, according to economists, Clark’s comments are misleading. “Even if we are as charitable as possible to the underlying assumption the premier is making, it is untrue,” said Rob Gillezeau, associate professor of economics at the University of Victoria and former chief economist for the federal NDP leader. “The province has debt on the books. The fiscal plan has debt accumulation on the books, so there is no way that statement is going to be true,” said Gillezeau. Rob Gillezeau “There is no way” our children won’t have to pay off B.C.’s debt, says economist Rob Gillezeau, of the University of Victoria and the former chief economist for the federal NDP leader. B.C.’s overall provincial debt is forecast to hit $47 billion by 2020, according to public accounts. There’s another $30 billion in debt when you count Crown corporations such as BC Hydro, and TI Corp. — what is known as self-supporting debt because they generate their own revenue. But that is not the debt Clark is talking about. “It’s obviously debt that the public will face regardless. Whether it’s directly under a corporation, it doesn’t really matter for purposes of whether the public has debt. It’s sheltered under a Crown corporation,” said Gillezeau,