It reads more like a press release than a budget, more like an annual report than next year鈥檚 plan.
A Stronger BC, For Everyone arrives at that awkward phase of a government鈥檚 mandate 鈥� too late to introduce radical measures, too soon to make radical promises. Mostly, the third British Columbian budget under the B.C. NDP reinforces a theme with slight fiddling instead of symphonic command.
Much of its documentation is a tick-the-box accounting of budgets one and two. It sets a modern-day record for the use of 鈥渙ver the past two years鈥� in thanking itself in talking through its 鈥渟tronger B.C. for everyone.鈥� It finally sheds that lamentable slogan of 鈥減utting people first鈥� and pivots to 鈥減utting children and families first.鈥�
Mantras aside, the most critical macro-questions involve John Horgan government鈥檚 capacity to sidestep problems if economic headwinds somehow sweep the Left Coast. To that end, Finance Minister Carole James was assured in her step Tuesday, pledging a $203 million surplus for the year ending March 31 and in-the-black results well into the next mandate of whatever government is elected, even in her dialing back forecasts for the coming year.
As a political document, it is shrewd without being spendthrift.
Some signals emerge on the constituencies the NDP wishes to recruit and retain next election 鈥� $4 million in student grants that will be quickly gobbled up, health-care funds to reflect the bottomless need of an aging demography, frozen ICBC rates to placate drivers and pummel 鈥渞ich鈥� lawyers, and following through on a low-income family support program.
There is a natural inclination inherent in most NDP governments to protect us from ourselves: virtuous taxes on pops and vapes.
And, straight out of the playbook in order to make clear who is in and who is out, there is a new tax bracket on those earning $220,000 annually; million-dollar recipients will bear half of it.
When there is little formidable to announce, there is also little formidable to attack, so the document had the added benefit of muting the B.C. Liberals 鈥� dare they complain about the dousing of the ICBC dumpster fire as a money-laundering probe looms? 鈥� and giving the B.C. Greens nothing upon which to grouse and grow post-Andrew Weaver.
The markets ought not to get jittery, either, even if major capital projects will be financed with debt. The province maintains its triple-A credit rating and a decent debt-to-GDP ratio. The province will lead the national economy again, although the pace of progress is more marathoner than sprinter.
Mostly, the top stories were old news on housing and homelessness, infrastructure, child care benefits, Medical Service Plan shifts to business from individuals, removal of tolls and student loan interest, electric vehicle support, heat pumps. These aren鈥檛 inconsequential, but these aren鈥檛 the days of announcing more 鈥� those days are for the next document, the one that precedes an election.
One hint was in preliminary wording on a variety of transportation projects in the Fraser Valley and on 麻豆传媒映画Island. Another is in some sort of long-term revitalization plan for the besieged forestry sector. A third is likely legislation to help cities relieve businesses of onerous tax. James would like housing prices to come down more, but she wasn鈥檛 at all suggesting there are more taxes to come in that realm.
Of course, economic headlines these days aren鈥檛 on those granular matters but on the global sprawl of COVID-19, and on that score James didn鈥檛 sound anything close to the alarm bells her federal counterpart professed last week in predicting a 鈥渟ignificant鈥� impact on the economy. In a briefing for journalists, she asserted the province is in a 鈥渧ery strong position鈥� to accommodate any outbreak and her government will monitor the tourism business and provide support to those affected 鈥� but she targeted nothing Tuesday in the interim.
It is getting well past the point of suggesting that the NDP government is merely the beneficiary of the Liberal benefactors. They could have mauled the economy on their own by now if they weren鈥檛 so judicious. It is true that the big-ticket spending on child care and housing is easing off for a couple of years and may be disguising the true liabilities of the spending plans, but the long-term economic strategies don鈥檛 appear to be marching the province to the apocalypse.
By most accounts, the Horgan-James combo ought to be seeking election in generally healthy times. For their opponents, this has to be an infuriating, infernal time of true soul-searching for a plan to prevent the minority government from a majority mandate.
Kirk LaPointe is publisher and editor-in-chief of Business in 麻豆传媒映画and vice-president, editorial, of Glacier Media.
