Provincial budget & finance

Why are so many people needing food banks when the BC economy is growing?

Nov 17, 2015

Last week, Statistics Canada released new data showing the BC economy did better than expected in 2014, growing by 3.2% in real terms. This is a strong economic performance, the fastest on record since the recession ended. The new growth numbers were published just as the annual Welfare Food Challenge organized by Raise the Rates captured headlines… View Article

Spotlight on health care austerity: seniors’ residential care

Oct 30, 2015

By Marc Lee

Let’s break down changes in health care spending by age group. You might think that as overall health care spending in BC has gone up, we would see bigger jumps for those over age 65. But this is not the case – indeed, quite the opposite. This figure shows the change in health care spending per… View Article

Austerity comes to BC’s health care system

Oct 29, 2015

By Marc Lee

For many years, BC’s health care system escaped the austerity imposed on other parts of the public sector. No longer. While total dollars allocated to health care are still increasing somewhat, those increases are not sufficient to keep up with cost drivers in the system, leading to a real reduction in health care services. This needs… View Article

Can the federal parties’ child care proposals pay for the $10 a Day Plan?

Oct 14, 2015

By Iglika Ivanova

We’ve been glad to see child care emerge as a key issue in this federal election, with three major parties (Greens, Liberals and NDP) vying to tackle the problems with the status quo: inadequate spaces, unaffordability and inconsistent quality. We analyzed the party platforms on child care in more detail in a previous post. Now… View Article

One year after the BC teachers’ strike, what’s happening for kids with special needs?

Sep 7, 2015

By Seth Klein

by Seth Klein and Tyson Schoeber It’s been a year since the longest strike in the history of BC’s public school system. A key outcome of that dispute was increased understanding of the phrase “class size and composition.” During the strike, the public came to appreciate that teachers were fighting not just for better wages,… View Article

The problem with the Fraser Institute’s consumer tax index

Aug 27, 2015

By Iglika Ivanova

Every summer, the Fraser Institute releases a report pointing out the average family now spends more on taxes than food, clothing and shelter. But is it really a bad thing that as our economy grows we spend less of our income on basic survival and more on better education, better health, parks, environmental protection and… View Article

Just how bad is BC’s LNG deal with Petronas?

Jul 13, 2015

By Marc Lee

Last week, the BC government released the text of its Project Development Agreement with Pacific Northwest LNG (led by Malaysian state enterprise, Petronas), considered the front-runner in getting BC an LNG export industry. The agreement goes to the BC legislature this week in order to convince Petronas to make a “final investment decision.” There are still other barriers to this… View Article

Doubling contribution limit to Tax-Free Savings Accounts exposes true intent of a bad policy

Apr 15, 2015

By Seth Klein

Last week, federal finance minister Joe Oliver re-affirmed that his government seeks to double the annual limit to Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), from $5,500 to $11,000. This is a terrible idea. When the TFSA was first introduced, the claim at the time was that the policy was intended to support modest income people wanting to… View Article

Balanced Budget Legislation – another zombie policy returns from the dead

Apr 11, 2015

By Seth Klein

Ah, here we go again – when seeking to assert credibility as sound fiscal managers, governments reach for the tired gimmick of “balanced budget legislation” (BBL). It’s not about good economics. Nor about good public policy. Just crass politics. And now the federal government is once again dangling this useless policy ploy. The CCPA-BC was… View Article

Apples and oranges: Comparing BC and Ontario debt ratios

Mar 4, 2015

By Hugh Mackenzie

The February 18, 2015 edition of the Globe and Mail featured an article by the paper’s B.C. correspondent Gary Mason, which in part drew favourable attention to BC’s debt-to-GDP ratio in comparison with that of Ontario. On face value, B.C.’s reported debt-to-GDP ratio calculated from its most recent audited statements of 18.2% looks pretty good… View Article

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A progressive take on BC issues

A progressive take on BC issues

Provincial budget & finance

Why are so many people needing food banks when the BC economy is growing?

Spotlight on health care austerity: seniors’ residential care

Austerity comes to BC’s health care system

Can the federal parties’ child care proposals pay for the $10 a Day Plan?

One year after the BC teachers’ strike, what’s happening for kids with special needs?

The problem with the Fraser Institute’s consumer tax index

Just how bad is BC’s LNG deal with Petronas?

Doubling contribution limit to Tax-Free Savings Accounts exposes true intent of a bad policy

Balanced Budget Legislation – another zombie policy returns from the dead

Apples and oranges: Comparing BC and Ontario debt ratios