Child care, farming, Highway 1 and, well, Chilliwack in general were left out of the provincial NDP government’s second full budget presented on Tuesday.
That’s according to Chilliwack-Kent MLA Laurie Throness who also serves as opposition critic for Children and Family Development and Childcare.
“The only mention of Chilliwack in the budget was the re-announcement of the southside school,” Throness told The Progress. “Otherwise, there is nothing for agriculture, and nothing for widening Highway 1.”
• READ MORE: Province pledges nearly $49 million for new Chilliwack school
• READ MORE: Federal infrastructure minister talks Highway 1 widening in Chilliwack
In his specific role as critic, Throness said he sees a lot of talk about child care in the budget, but nothing new or concrete.
Well, the kids got into the cookie jar again - and emptied it! Under today's NDP budget, spending will rise by 4.5% this year alone, with zero plan to grow the economy.
— Laurie Throness (@LaurieThroness) February 19, 2019
“There is a tax rebate for any family with children under 18, but it won’t start until October 2020. I do support the announced increase for support for foster families of exactly $179.09 per month (a bit of an odd number to put in a budget), which is an increase of about 20 per cent. This is something I called on the government to do a year ago.”
He also called it a “high-spending budget” with a 10 per cent increase over the next three years and 4.5 per cent in 2019 alone.
Throness suggested the planned surpluses are too small to be responsible, and the NDP government has left no room for error.
“The surpluses are razor thin (about half of one per cent of spending this year), and we feel the surpluses are in jeopardy given the worsening economic picture,” he said.
Throness added that he considers this a “classic NDP high-tax-and-spend budget,” with no focus on the economy, job creation, international trade, encouraging investment in B.C. or funding capital assets.
“That’s very concerning,” he said. “We got to our place of prosperity today because we focused on the economy, and it’s disturbing to see the government present no plan for economic growth.”
• READ MORE: VIDEO: 8 things you need to know about the 2019 B.C. budget
• READ MORE: B.C. BUDGET: Surplus $374 million after bailouts of BC Hydro, ICBC
@PeeJayAitch
paul.henderson@theprogress.com
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