Provincial budget & finance

Dix right to scrap balanced budget legislation

Sep 28, 2012

Yesterday, Opposition leader Adrian Dix indicated that, if he wins government, he would scrap BC’s balanced budget legislation (BBL). His announcement has drawn some fire from predictable sources. Some media reports indicate that Dix appeared uncomfortable sharing this news. He shouldn’t have. Scrapping BBL is good public policy. CCPA researchers have long been critics of… View Article

The staggering future costs of the BC government’s contracts

Jul 27, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

As usual, there has been quite a hubbub surrounding this week’s release of British Columbia’s Public Accounts. The provincial auditor says the provincial deficit is $520 million more than the government admits. And then there is the Auditor General’s review of finances at the legislature that found “substantial irregularities.” But all of the above is… View Article

Slim pickin’s for BC’s children and youth in budget

Mar 2, 2012

By Adrienne Montani

Just in case anyone missed just how bad BC’s new budget is for the province’s children and youth, I thought I’d post First Call’s reaction from our news release: CHILDREN AND YOUTH GET SLIM PICKINGS IN BUDGET 2012 It notes that Finance Minister Falcon talks of fiscal prudence, but the budget’s failure to invest in the… View Article

BC isn’t broke: putting teacher bargaining in perspective

By Iglika Ivanova

Last Monday, BC teachers held a Day of Action in communities across the province to protest the BC government’s decision to legislate a contract and put an end to their collective bargaining process. I was invited to speak to teachers at the Surrey rally, where I had the opportunity to share some of my analysis… View Article

The false economy of BC Budget 2012: deficit exaggerated to avoid spending on real problems

Feb 21, 2012

By Iglika Ivanova

Today’s BC budget was simply titled Budget 2012. It broke with the tradition of ambitious-sounding titles we’ve seen in the last decade (such as 2010’s Building a Prosperous British Columbia budget), but that’s about all the change you’ll notice from the previous administration’s budgets. Despite the fact that this was hailed as the first budget… View Article

Kevin Falcon’s narrow take on tax options

Jan 28, 2012

By Seth Klein

BC Finance Minister Kevin Falcon says he is keen to take a fresh look at the BC tax system. He is welcoming new ideas, and he even wants your opinion. He has struck an “expert” panel to review BC’s tax regime, and in early January the government launched an online tool that the public can… View Article

A prescription for health care reform: think integration & collaboration

Jan 16, 2012

By Iglika Ivanova

This morning the CCPA released a new report (co-authored by yours truly) that looks at the thorny issue of health care reform in BC and identifies some practical, evidence-based strategies that have been successful in improving quality of care and controlling costs in other jurisdictions. The paper comes out at a time when all Canadian… View Article

The Union of BC Municipalities Convention: a potpourri of policy

Oct 2, 2011

By Keith Reynolds

For people who follow local policy issues the annual meeting of the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) is always chock-a-block with material. Last week’s meeting in Vancouver, which saw hundreds of mayors and councilors along with most of the Cabinet, much of the BC opposition and dozens of groups selling both items and ideas, was… View Article

Will the “Jobs Plan” just add to the government trust deficit?

Sep 24, 2011

By Keith Reynolds

There has been some very good analysis written about the details of this week’s roll out of the BC Liberal government’s “Jobs Plan.” A number of pieces are on this site. Marc Lee and Iglika Ivanova had an excellent column in the Sun. Instead of commenting on the policy thrust, however, I would like to… View Article

The real impact of HST’s defeat on provincial finances

Sep 9, 2011

By Iglika Ivanova

On Sept 8, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon released a much anticipated update on provincial finances. The Minster’s presentation focused on highlighting the cost of the move back to PST/GST, providing some large numbers for the media headlines, instead of looking at the big picture. In case you missed the media coverage, the provincial coffers are… View Article

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A progressive take on BC issues

A progressive take on BC issues

Provincial budget & finance

Dix right to scrap balanced budget legislation

The staggering future costs of the BC government’s contracts

Slim pickin’s for BC’s children and youth in budget

BC isn’t broke: putting teacher bargaining in perspective

The false economy of BC Budget 2012: deficit exaggerated to avoid spending on real problems

Kevin Falcon’s narrow take on tax options

A prescription for health care reform: think integration & collaboration

The Union of BC Municipalities Convention: a potpourri of policy

Will the “Jobs Plan” just add to the government trust deficit?

The real impact of HST’s defeat on provincial finances