Laudable green initiatives come at expense of social needs
Vancouver Sun
February 21, 2008
Editorial By: Marc Lee, CCPA – BC office

In an era where taxes have been demonized, British Columbia's green 2008 budget is newsworthy for its introduction of a new tax on greenhouse gas emissions. But there are some important shortcomings in the plan, and in the rush to green, there is little in the budget to address many other priorities…

Masked behind the pages of green, however, is a status quo that leaves a lot to be desired. Increases in health and education funding are sufficient for services to keep moving along as they have been. But no major funding increases that would reduce class sizes or build out community health care were tabled. Similarly, no action has been taken to expand much-needed child care spaces….

In contrast, the 2008/09 budget for the Olympics is about three times this amount. Sadly, there is no indication that B.C. will follow other provinces in developing a comprehensive anti-poverty plan.

This is a huge disappointment given that the government has lots of money tucked away between the pages. Even after accounting for $1 billion in contingencies built into the budget, there is much more available. Inexplicably, 2008/09 revenues are predicted to fall by two per cent, even though GDP growth is expected to remain relatively strong, at a nominal value of more than four per cent. Expect the 2008 fiscal year to close with another whopping surplus of $3 billion or more -- not the $50 million widely reported.

All totalled, this budget takes an important step forward on climate change. But it is a shame the same vigour for targets and timelines cannot be brought to bear in areas like poverty reduction, homelessness, child care and education.