See below as Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett gives her own take on BC's 2014 Budget
Meanwhile - read below as MLA Barnett spoke in the BC Legislature on the 2014 Provincial Budget this past Thursday afternoon:
I am pleased to rise today and have the opportunity to respond to balanced budget 2014, which our government presented to this House this past Tuesday.
First, I would like to begin by mentioning that many members in this chamber know I am a locally focused MLA and believe in representing the interests of my constituents wherever possible in this chamber.
Therefore, before I begin my response to the budget, I wish to begin by acknowledging my staff, particularly my constituency assistants. Bonnie Gavin in Williams Lake and Beverly Harris in 100 Mile House do great work every day, listening to the concerns of my constituents and keeping me informed of what is happening at home. I would also like to thank the hard work of the staff here in the Victoria in the east annex — my legislative assistants, communication and research officers and all ministerial staff that assist me every day.
Of course, I would like to thank the constituents of Cariboo-Chilcotin. I would like to particularly thank them for all their words and letters of encouragement in our effort to support the New Prosperity project in my constituency. As I mentioned in my member's statement this past Monday, I have been working hard with many of my colleagues, meeting with as many stakeholders as possible to tell the story of this project and the benefits it will bring not just to my constituency but to the entire province and the country of Canada.
This is British Columbia's second consecutive balanced budget to be delivered by our Premier, and this is one of our most significant accomplishments we have made under her leadership. Our balanced budget fulfils the most fundamental promise we made to British Columbians: balance the budget by keeping taxes low and controlling spending. I am proud to be a member of a government that believes that fiscal responsibility is one of the most important priorities in our work.
However, tough choices had to be made to achieve this goal. While some choices were unpopular, they were the right ones to make. It was a difficult challenge to balance the budget in a time when global economic uncertainty is still present. Governments around the world continue to face challenges to get their fiscal house in order. But through tough choices and prudent planning, we achieved this goal — to achieve our commitments to keep British Columbia in the black.
This is an incredibly proud moment for this government and for the members of this side of the House. Instead of reckless spending and promises to so many people and so many special interests, our fiscal position that we enjoy today would be squandered by the party currently sitting in opposition.
How should we summarize Budget 2014? It's balanced; it's boring. That's pretty much it. But I really do fully support this budget and the objectives of our government, presented by the Minister of Finance.
While the budget itself, described by the minister as boring, to be honest, that is exactly the type of budget that British Columbia needs.
We have made the investments that ensure services delivered by the province continue to meet the demands and needs of British Columbians across the province. I will also echo what the Finance
Minister said a few days ago, and that is that we are putting B.C. on a fiscal path that will ensure our province remains one of the best places to invest in the world. A fiscal regime that believes that keeping taxes low and controlling spending in a time where other governments have collapsed is why British Columbia is in a class of its own for being one of the most fiscally responsible jurisdictions in the world. By delivering a real plan, fiscally responsible leadership is certainly one of the key reasons why we were we re-elected in May 2014 and received yet another strong mandate from the people of British Columbia.
This government believes in controlling spending and reducing government waste wherever we can. Strong fiscal discipline by our government ensures that the budget remains balanced for the next three years by keeping a tight rein on spending, particularly by controlling growth in expenses and ministry budgets on a continuous basis.
Now, $184 million in the 2014-15 fiscal year is not a large surplus by any measure. However, by reviewing the financial position of this province over an ongoing basis, we will ensure that when the budget is presented next year, the fiscal position remains balanced.
The work conducted by the Minister for Core Review so far is paying off. Savings of $50 million have been found this year, and we will continue to conduct the work necessary to find savings wherever possible without reducing service for the most vulnerable British Columbians.
Over the next three years we are expecting that the core review will reduce spending, real savings that will give our government some breathing room to ensure that our budgets remain balanced and that we are not burdening our future generation with debt. Meeting these fiscal targets is an ongoing task, and we are committed to meeting this goal for the people of British Columbia.
While controlling spending is one of the most fundamental aspects of this balanced budget, it does not mean that we are not investing in necessary projects and plans throughout our province. The Cariboo-Chilcotin and surrounding region is receiving necessary infrastructure improvements that will make life better in our region. Four-laning work on Highway 97 and on the Cariboo connector is ongoing. By fall 2015, the phase 2 of the Cariboo connector strategy will be complete.
Investing in our roads to make them safer and reduce congestion for residents in my constituency is something I am pleased to see our government is addressing. We do not expect roads to be built overnight, but step by step our government is making the necessary investments throughout rural B.C. to make life better for British Columbians and make it easier to deliver our products to market.
So $125 million is being invested by our government in the Cariboo connector program, which has the added benefit of providing jobs and opportunities to my constituents in construction, engineering and planning positions. The hard-working men and women employed on this project are taxpayers and members of our communities. The benefits of this project going forward will help our local and small businesses with customers, keep people in our region and make it more efficient to move our products and services to markets in northern B.C. and the Lower Mainland.
In total, our government is spending approximately $2.4 billion in capital spending on other infrastructure projects across B.C. over the next three years. These are needed investments to keep our province moving forward.
Other investments worth mentioning that are benefiting the great people of the Cariboo-Chilcotin are community investment projects, which build stronger and better communities throughout our province. Community gaming grant investments, just this month alone in my constituency, include $17,000 for the 100 Mile House and District Women's Centre Society for a drop-in centre; $75,000 for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Williams Lake for in-school mentoring; $50,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Williams Lake for a recreation and nutrition program; and $121,725 for the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre in 100 Mile House.
These gaming grants help keep our communities strong, healthy and vibrant. The hard work of the volunteers to make these organizations as successful as they are is commendable. I am pleased and happy they have received this assistance to make an even bigger difference in the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
Another community program that has benefited the Cariboo-Chilcotin is the strategic community investment fund, which has provided communities across my constituency with funding to invest in municipal priorities and projects. Since 2009 the strategic community investment fund has provided almost $600 million in grants to communities across British Columbia.
Families in my region will also benefit from the B.C. training and education savings grant that will provide a one-time grant to every child born in B.C. after 2007 — $1,200 through their family RESP — and 40,000 families are going to benefit from this program. Every little bit will help pay for their university, trades or other post-secondary institution costs.
Investment in skills training continues to be one of the main priorities of this government, meeting the needs of current and future students for many years to come. By ensuring that young adults and future British Columbians have the necessary skills to participate in new resource projects that will be coming to northern British Columbia is incredibly important to people in the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
The new NorKam trades centre of excellence in Kamloops, which will be completed this fall, will provide courses in areas such as mining, exploration, industrial skills and the construction trades, which will be incredibly useful for the jobs of tomorrow in northern B.C. and the Cariboo. Trades and skills training investments ensure that British Columbians are the first in line for new and exciting opportunities in the resource sector.
Our government has also invested in First Nations youth to enter trades and skills training programs, ensuring that every single British Columbian has the opportunity to participate in economic prosperity that will come with new and existing resource projects.
Our government also introduced the B.C. early childhood tax credit, which will provide $55 per month for every child under six years old in April 2015. This will invest $146 million for 180,000 families across the province to help them balance the demands of work and parenting.
The first-time-homeowners property transfer relief program has also been increased from $425,000 to $475,000, making it a little bit easier for young people to achieve home ownership. The benefits will save first-time homebuyers up to $7,500, which can make all the difference in the world when buying a new home. Young people, first-time homebuyers and families with young children in my constituency are excited for these new programs, and I am proud that our government is going to help them.
Government investments are incredibly important to the people of British Columbia. But if taxpayers have to provide high amounts of their paycheque every week to pay for these programs and investments, our economy and quality of life will suffer. That is why this budget is good for British Columbia and good for our economy. Our personal taxes are the lowest in Canada for individuals earning up to $121,000 per year. This provides families and individuals the room to invest and save more of their hard-earned money. This also makes British Columbia one of the most desirable places in the world to live.
Without going into too much detail, my region of the Cariboo-Chilcotin has so much natural beauty and recreational opportunities. The region is rich in natural resources. Again, mentioning the New Prosperity project, the jobs in this project are high-paying and high-skilled positions. And guess what.
They are high-paying jobs. More high-paying opportunities in the natural resource sector means additional government revenues for the province and local municipalities across British Columbia.
Keeping our tax rates competitive and fostering investment in our province pays dividends for many years to come. With $181million of net benefits to taxpayers this year, economic stability and growth will be achieved through the efforts that our government presented this year.
Government revenues are forecasted this year to almost $45 billion, much of which is taxation revenue. However, our government understands that revenues cannot just be increased by raising taxes on income earners and on families. We must grow the economy.
Keeping our taxation policies competitive will increase revenues. Our government is taking the necessary time to implement a competitive LNG tax framework. That will not only make our province a competitive jurisdiction to invest in LNG projects, but British Columbians will receive the maximum benefits from these projects going forward. Royalties for natural gas are already comparatively competitive. Relative to other jurisdictions investing in LNG projects, we continue to be a key market for LNG investors.
Small business taxation and regulatory reform also keep our economy competitive and continue to employ hundreds of thousands of British Columbians. By keeping our commitment to foster growth in small business in a variety of sectors in every region of the province, by making it easier for business owners to operate, and reducing the time and effort to comply with government red tape, they can concentrate on running their business and keeping the British Columbia economy strong.
This government's commitment to balance the budget matters on a fundamental point — to keep British Columbia a competitive place to invest and grow. A triple-A credit rating means that businesses around the world know that our province is a jurisdiction that is in no danger of collapsing or entering financial difficulty. In countries such as Greece and Ireland government financial crisis meant that taxes went up, unemployment skyrocketed, and serious cutbacks to government services were experienced.
Compared to the rest of Canada, B.C. has one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios. Compared to Quebec at 55.7 percent, Ontario at 37.4 percent and the federal government at 33 percent, B.C.'s debt-to-GDP ratio is only 18.5 percent. This is fiscal leadership.
With these facts in front of us, our plan to pay off British Columbia's debt is achievable, and we'll keep our triple-A rating intact for many, many years to come. B.C. is stable, with an economy that is growing at a reasonable rate, unemployment rates stabilizing, and government spending kept under control.
This three-year fiscal plan is not grandiose or too optimistic. It is well researched and growth figures take into account the still fragile North American economy. That being said, by diversifying our export markets from the United States to Asia, Europe, and Latin America, we will not only experience the dramatic shocks of the economic situation south of border. And because British Columbia products such as timber, manufactured goods and agriculture goods are known to be of high quality around the world, our exporters can command higher prices.
Fiscal prudence is not only what the business and foreign investments market want. It is also what families and people in my riding want. I have been told many times at the doorstep that they are expected to balance their own books every year, and so should government.
In summary, I am incredibly proud to be a supporter of balanced budget 2014. This is a real fiscal plan that not only fulfils the commitment we made to keep our budget balanced but is continuing to invest in our communities, families, small business across my constituency and the province.
Growing our economy through investment in skills training, laying a foundation for competitive LNG industry, building new connections with economies in Asia, and keeping our fiscal position to the best in the world — yes, there is a lot to be proud of in this budget, and we will continue to monitor the financial position of our province to ensure that this time next year we deliver our third consecutive balanced budget.
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