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Editorial: where’s the cash coming from?

Cariboo North MLA says there nothing in budget for rural British Columbia
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We commented on the throne speech, which was read out by Lt-Gov. Judith Guichon in the Legislature on Feb. 13.

The New Democrats’ throne speech was abysmal.

It was a bag of hot air meant to pull the wool over the eyes of British Columbians.

The speech was crammed full with grandiose promises with very little in the way of how they were going to run programs and in what regions of the province.

There was no mention of how much the programs were going to cost or where the money was going to come from.

For months prior to the speech, reporters asked those questions, as is their duty, and Premier John Horgan smiled and told them to wait for the budget: the details would be laid out in the holy document.

The Feb. 20 budget released the numbers and some election promises were fulfilled; others, like housing and day care, are high-end projects that will require long-term funding.

It was odd how Finance Minister Carole James framed the budget as being more than revenue and expenses, and that it’s really about people and the types of communities we want to live in and the kind of future we want.

Great!

Budgets are all about counting dollars and cents, or about making sure we bring in enough money to cover the costs of these programs.

Of course it is exactly what a budget is supposed to be.

The NDP have a long, long, long history of tax-and-spend politics.

The New Democrats, according to Cariboo North MLA Coralee Oakes, are going to spend almost twice as much as they are going to bring in as revenue.

Wait a minute!

Wake up from the pipe dream!

Where are they going to get the money to pay for these projects so they can continue to balance those books?

They are going to drop or reduce ongoing projects – mostly in rural British Columbia.

They’re going to increase taxes – some will be punitive taxes (real estate speculation).

They are going to increase water rentals, hunting and fishing licences – these are the “new” taxes.

Then there are the premiums on BC Hydro and ICBC – they will surely go up.

But as Rural British Columbians, we should probably be concerned that, according to our MLA, there will be no significant spending in our neck of the woods.

We find that very odd indeed!

Perhaps Coralee is correct – the budget is an assault on 250!

Ken Alexander

Quesnel Cariboo Observer