Deficits will be good for services, say MLA's
The Daily News (Kamloops)
Sep 2 2009
By: Cam Fortems

Huge deficits will protect most services, but the city's two MLAs warned Tuesday there will be some pain from a worsening provincial economic picture.

… But reductions in some ministries will mean sacrifices, they said.

"There's not enough money to go around," Krueger said, calling it a "budget that protects essential services."….

Lake touted next year's planned introduction to 50 per cent of the five-year-old population of voluntary full-time kindergarten. Details of which areas of the province and which families will qualify were not released in the budget.

"It gives kids a head start," Lake said. "It will relieve a lot of young families from day-care costs and hire more new teachers."

But the president of the Kamloops-Thompson Teachers' Association, said there is skepticism government will deliver, based on its record of false predictions and budget promises.

"It's a worthy thing," said David Komljenovic, "but we're mistrustful of the intentions of this government .... As we've seen with the facilities grant it was pulled midstream. The same thing could happen with full-day kindergarten."