Provincial budget & finance

BC’s 2009 Super-Fudge-It Budget

Jul 12, 2010
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Under the “we told you so” category, I am filing the BC public accounts for 2009/10. The province closed the year with a deficit of $1.8 billion. As Will McMartin comments in The Tyee: … B.C.’s public accounts for the fiscal year 2009/2010 conclusively prove that the pre-election fiscal plan foisted on British Columbians by… View Article

Good news from the BC government – with a couple of caveats

Jul 10, 2010
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The BC government’s announcement July 9th that it had signed a deal on generic drugs with the province’s drug stores is good news.  As discussed in an earlier blog, British Columbians have been paying far more than consumers in other jurisdictions for generic drugs.  Alberta, Quebec and Ontario had already taken steps to correct this… View Article

Job creation alone will not solve BC’s poverty problem

Apr 29, 2010
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Whenever he’s confronted with questions about BC’s record high child poverty rates or by the growing income inequality in the province, our Premier maintains that the best social policy is a job. In fact, reducing the costs of doing business in BC seems to be this government’s chief economic strategy. Consider the HST, for example,… View Article

Message to school boards: Shut the hell up

Apr 15, 2010
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The punch may have landed on the Vancouver School Board but make no mistake; BC Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid just took a swing at every school board in the province. The Minister’s imposition of the province’s Comptroller General as a budget cop for the Vancouver school board sends a clear message to other school districts. … View Article

Income Taxes are a steal: Seth’s tax confessions

Apr 5, 2010
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I just did my taxes this weekend, and I’m wracked with guilt. Personally, I’ve never found completing my taxes particularly onerous. It takes me a few hours — no big deal. I’m paid well (and well above the average). I’ve never had to hire an accountant, as I’m not doing anything fancy. I’m only availing… View Article

The role of stimulus spending in the recovery

Mar 24, 2010
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Yesterday, the Fraser Institute published a new report, which argues that the government stimulus did not drive Canadian economic growth in the last two quarters of 2009, suggesting that government spending on infrastructure was useless for the economy. The report earned the scorn of Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who called it “poorly done and it’s… View Article

Assistance recipients on government hit list

Mar 8, 2010
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Last week CBC reported cuts in social assistance services for British Columbia’s most challenged citizens.  The story received almost no coverage in most other media, so it is probably worthwhile just to highlight what the government thinks must be cut to pay for their deficit.  On March 4th the government issued a press release with… View Article

Climate inaction and BC’s budget

Mar 3, 2010
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The 2010 BC Budget was a disappointment on the climate action front. Even as Premier Campbell waxed poetic in the Globe about the impact of climate change on the 2010 Spring Games – with its sunny days, crocuses, daffodils and by the end, cherry blossoms making it fun for people on the street but a… View Article

BC Budget 2010 (notes from Iglika and Marc)

Mar 2, 2010
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For a document titled Building a Prosperous British Columbia, the 2010 BC Budget is underwhelming in its ambition. Budget 2010 shows a government talking a lot about the legacy of the Olympics but lacking any coherent vision of how to translate upbeat sentiments into real improvements in British Columbians’ standard of living. This budget says… View Article