Latest news with #BrendaBailey
Vancouver Sun
27-05-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Despite 'looking under every rock,' B.C. NDP not rushing to trim deficit
VICTORIA — Finance Minister Brenda Bailey says the New Democrats are 'looking under every rock' for several hundred million dollars in savings to get control of a budget deeply in the red. 'That's what British Columbians will expect from us, and that is exactly what we were doing,' Bailey told the legislature during debate on the spending estimates for her ministry of finance. 'Every single ministry is looking at their programs and their budgets to ensure that every dollar is being well spent. We're looking under every rock. It's being done very carefully.' A daily roundup of Opinion pieces from the Sun and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Informed Opinion will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Also urgently. The province has to act quickly 'to get a handle on its deficits, according to Bailey's deputy minister, Douglas Scott. 'This is not a short-term financial crisis,' the deputy finance minister told public servants in an online meeting last month. 'We have a systemic deficit that we have to adjust. If we don't adjust it, it will go on in perpetuity.' Bailey confirmed Scott's warning this month. But she maintained that the New Democrats are already facing up to the challenge. 'The deputy minister, who I work with very closely, is sharing that should we not do this work, this is what the outcome would be,' she told the house. 'It is really important to know that were we not to take action, that would be the situation that we are in. But we are taking significant action.' The starting goal is to rustle up $300 million in savings. A sizable sum that nevertheless accounts for only a tiny percentage of the projected $95 billion in spending in the current financial year. The finance minister has already incorporated the amount into this year's projected bottom line. 'The $10.9 billion deficit assumes the $300 million in savings,' said Bailey. But under Opposition questioning this week, she was reluctant to speculate about where the money would be found. 'What was cut? What was not approved for expenditure that otherwise was going to be?' challenged Conservative finance critic Peter Milobar. 'That is what is called a savings. It's not just pulling a number out of the air and saying, 'Oh, we saved $300 million' without actually being able to show your work. Can the minister provide a detailed breakdown of where that $300 million in savings was found?' No, she could not. 'We are not able to share with the member decisions made on the efficiency review because they haven't been made yet,' replied Bailey. 'The work is going on right now across government. It's that simple. 'The work that we're doing right now is reviewing every single ministry to look at where we can find savings. We expect to reach that $300 million mark, and it is my hope we go further.' A progress report on the hunt for the elusive $300 million will be included in the first update for the financial year, scheduled for release in early September. Could Bailey at least specify under which rocks she would be looking? asked Milobar. 'The first lens that we have applied is one of expenditure controls,' said the minister. 'Things like salaries, travel, professional services, office supplies, business expenses, office leases, tenant improvements and more. So that's the initial sort of lens by which we began this work of efficiency review.' She also said the government had made progress on a promised hiring freeze. In a prior year, 'a six to eight per cent increase is kind of what we would have seen,' said Bailey. 'Whereas right now, it is 0.3 — less than one per cent.' But when Milobar offered helpful suggestions — like cutting the budget for advertising or opinion polling — Bailey rejected them out of hand. 'I'm not going to be pushed into a situation of presupposing what the outcomes of those reviews are going to be,' she said at one point. For all Bailey's acknowledgment of the fiscal crisis, she and her colleagues are scarcely in a rush to close the financial gap. They've targeted $1.5 billion in savings over three years, at the end of which the deficit is still projected to weigh in just under $10 billion. And that is without incorporating the $2 billion-a-year hit the government will take from phasing out the carbon tax. Premier David Eby finally did acknowledge the need to address the deficit this year. His mandate letter to Bailey directed her to 'put B.C. on a clear path to a balanced budget.' The notion never crossed Eby's mind in directives to Bailey's predecessor, Katrine Conroy. 'This is not the time,' Conroy said more than once when asked about a budget balancing plan. Premier John Horgan balanced most of his budgets and left behind a surplus that Eby spent. Eby's own performance on the fiscal front recalls the scene in the Roadrunner cartoons, where the coyote runs off a cliff but continues along without noticing — until he makes the fatal mistake of looking down, then plummets to the earth. In financial terms, this is the year that David Eby finally, unavoidably looked down — into the fiscal canyon that he himself created. vpalmer@
CTV News
07-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘Surrey students deserve better'' parents and teachers launch campaign for more funds
Surrey parents and teachers are calling for more funding amid education cuts. A group of parents and teachers in Surrey, B.C., have launched a joint campaign requesting funding in the wake of severe cuts to the city's education services. The campaign was announced at the CUPE 728 office in Surrey by staff from the union for district support, the Surrey Teachers Association and the Surrey District Parents Advisory Council. 'This is a growing crisis in our public education system,' said Tammy Murphy, president of CUPE 728. 'Funding for education has not kept pace with inflation, population growth, and the rising needs of students.' The goal is to encourage the public to petition for their MLAs to increase provincial funding to Surrey schools. According to the Surrey Teachers Association, the Surrey school district requires $3.8 billion to keep up with rapid population growth and student supports. 'Minister Bailey's mandate is to improve the economy of B.C. How is she going to do that when she's not investing in classrooms, in the education of today?' said STA president Lizanne Foster, in the wake of B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey's budget speech made in March. In a statement to CTV News, the B.C. Ministry of Education and Childcare said the next school year, from 2025-2026, will be the ministry's highest funding for districts in history. Over $8.2 billion, including special grants, is going to districts, marking over 50 per cent more than 2016-2017 year, the ministry said. The statement did not specify how much is allocated to Surrey specifically. The ministry said the province has provided more than $1 billion in funding to the Surrey school district, more than any other district in the province. 'Tall people generally have bigger shoes, Surrey is the largest school district and of course we receive more funding, but it is the ministry's own formula and it's not adequate,' said Anne Whitmore, Surrey DPAC president. Whitmore is also a parent and says she witnesses the challenges firsthand. 'I've watched a child who I love deeply struggle because the supports she needs simply aren't there,' she said, holding back tears. The group also hopes the district re-focuses their spending on supporting students, rather than management. 'At a time when classrooms are overcrowded and supports are vanishing, the district is expanding their administration teams,' said Murphy. Gary Tymoschuk, the chair of the Surrey school district, says there is not much that can be done without more money from the province. 'We're a growing district of course, but I am very proud of the fact that we have one of the lowest percentages of our budget that is allocated to administration or overhead.' It comes as the district faces an anticipated $16 million budget shortfall for the 2025-26 school year. Last month, the district announced it will slash around 50 education assistant positions as a result. Surrey DPAC has organized a rally for May 16, and plans to go to Victoria at the end of the month to fight for more funding from the province.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
B.C.'s finance minister makes it up on the fly on carbon tax ... and gets it wrong
VICTORIA — Finance Minister Brenda Bailey was deep into debate on phasing out the carbon tax Monday night when she took a stab at rationalizing the NDP's reasons for waiting to act until the 11th hour. 'Some questions have been raised about this being a panic,' she began. 'Why on this day, March 31, are we bringing forward this bill? 'Well, the reality is the premier made a commitment that should the federal government step back on the carbon legislation, we too would follow suit.' When Prime Minister Mark Carney signed off on the federal version of the tax on March 15, the B.C. legislature was on a two-week break. 'That's something that the legislature decides upon. It's not a government decision,' claimed Bailey. 'Our first day back is today. This is why we're bringing it forward now, to keep our commitment that as soon as we could act, we would act.' Wrong and wrong again. Carney signalled his intention to get rid of the carbon tax on Jan. 31. The other serious contender for the Liberal party leadership, Chrystia Freeland, was of a similar mind. The New Democrats could have introduced legislation giving cabinet the power to repeal the B.C. counterpart of the tax when the provincial house sat on Feb. 18. There was a second opportunity with the budget and its enabling legislation on March 4. Bailey is in her second term as an MLA, long enough to know that legislature sittings, like the legislature agenda, are entirely at the call of the government. The New Democrats could have postponed spring break and recalled the house on March 17, allowing two weeks instead of one day to debate Bill 8, the Carbon Tax Amendment Act. The last minute 'panic' was entirely of the NDP's own making. Bailey undermined her credibility by trying to suggest otherwise. But it set the tone for her entire defence of the legislation, evasive and grudging as it was. In seeking authorization from the Speaker to put the bill through all three stages of debate in one day, government house leader Mike Farnworth made a pledge in return. The government would extend the time for debate into the night of March 31, 'thereby ensuring that all members who wish to debate this bill at all stages are provided ample opportunity to do so.' You wouldn't know it from Bailey's fielding of questions from Opposition finance critic Peter Milobar. She treated the clause-by-clause phase of debate as a nuisance and became more and more intransigent as the evening wore on. The phaseout of the carbon tax would create a $2 billion hole on the revenue side of the provincial budget. Would that entail cuts? Other offsets? Or a boost in the deficit? Bailey claimed not to have a clue what would happen. 'There is work underway,' she told Milobar. 'We are reviewing all programs that are linked to this. 'It's complex and important work, and it will take time, and it's going to be done carefully,' she lectured the Opposition. 'I think it's unrealistic to make a request that I have information on all of those decisions yet. The government will report back with the details of any changes along with the next scheduled update on the budget in September. Meaning a full year after Premier David Eby first promised to phase out the carbon tax. Talk about making it up as they go along. Listening to Bailey's non-answers you'd think that carbon tax repeal had just been sprung on the government, not something they'd promised months ago. Milobar challenged the finance minister on the matter of urgency, citing precedents where the government had amended the carbon tax at a leisurely pace and retroactively. Bailey tried to suggest the matter was closed by the Speaker's acceptance of the government request for expedited passage in one day. 'This question has been already decided upon by our Speaker,' she said, trying to short circuit the debate. 'That ruling stands. It has been litigated. It's accepted.' It is hardly news that the Speaker sided with the government on a procedural matter. It would be a rare day if he'd done otherwise. That shouldn't close off explanations about why the government rushed the bill. As the hours passed, Bailey fell back more and more on saying the question was 'asked and answered.' Or she ignored it altogether. She took to hectoring Milobar directly, at one point complaining 'you have asked a number of questions that I've indulged you in.' Later, she accused him of trying to trap her — 'playing a game of 'got you'' — with persistent questions about when the New Democrats actually began drafting the bill. When the Opposition finally gave up and let the bill pass, it was 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday April 1. Clause-by-clause debate, the most critical part of legislative scrutiny, had extended over four hours, much of it taken up with Milobar's probing and Bailey's refusal to say much of anything. But presumably that's what the premier wanted — a finance minister who steers critical tax legislation through the house while explaining as little as possible. vpalmer@ No excuse for last-minute rush to kill carbon tax in B.C. B.C. Premier David Eby backs away from power grab, but hints at new attempt in fall
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
B.C. finance minister to speak to business group a day after budget amid tariffs
VICTORIA — British Columbia's finance minister is starting to sell her budget to the public complete with a record deficit in the early days of a trade war with the United States. Brenda Bailey is expected to speak today at an event hosted by the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, her first public appearance after tabling the budget on the same day U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent on Canadian goods. Her budget forecasts a record deficit of about $10.9 billion in the next fiscal year starting April 1, while promising an insurance rebate for drivers of $110, and increases to both supports for families under the Rental Assistance Program and help for elderly renters relying on the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters program. The budget comes with $4 billion in annual contingencies for each of the next three years to cover what Bailey called 'unpredictable costs," including the province's response to the tariffs. As industry and advocates get a look at the books, some are raising concerns about what was included and what was left out. The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association calls the budget out-of-touch and says the deficit, rising debt, and trade war will have dire consequences for the economy and the construction industry. The BC Council of Forest Industries says it is disappointed by the absence of dedicated support for the forestry sector which will be particularly hard hit by the new tariffs at a time when the industry is already facing significant challenge amid the ongoing softwood lumber dispute. Bailey told reporters on Tuesday that the budget will focus on education and health care, while also boosting a 'self-sufficient economy.' The Business Council of B.C. says it's concerned about "the ongoing deterioration in B.C.'s public finances" and what it considers the absence of a credible path to restore fiscal sustainability. B.C.'s taxpayer-supported debt is projected to be $97.7 billion at the end of 2024-25, approximately $9.1 billion more than was projected in the budget from the previous year. The deficit is expected to decrease to $9.9 billion by 2027-28. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2024 The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
CBC
05-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
What B.C. is spending to help improve community safety
Social Sharing The 2025 B.C. budget is built to stay the course and cope with 25 per cent U.S tariffs, but it includes moderate spending to help communities grappling with crime, violence and social disorder. The new fiscal plan worth nearly $95 billion in spending includes $560 million over three years to help with encampments, address repeat violent offending, and help target robbery, shoplifting and property-related offences. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said small businesses are the anchors of the province's economy but were "facing big challenges, including being hit with theft and vandalism far too often." Part of the money — $16 million this year with $35 million in each of the next two years — is for "safer communities" initiatives, which the budget says will provide police with "enhanced tools, technology and investigative resources to curb these crimes." The province said policing agencies across the province will be able to apply to the new Community Safety and Targeted Enforcement Program pilot for the funding of specific undertakings to deal with problems such as street-level crime. Those affected, including the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB), said any new programming around these issues was welcome, but that their members were suffering under a crush of theft, vandalism and loitering, along with waste and litter at their businesses. "The time for a laid-back approach is past," said Emily Boston, a senior policy analyst with the CFIB. She noted that B.C's Security Small Businesses Rebate Program is no longer accepting applications, which was an opportunity for small businesses to recoup up to $2,000 in losses when they did experience vandalism. "It's a positive step to see government expanding supports generally in this area, but we've also seen now an absence moving forward of direct financial relief." Justice spending The budget also commits $24 million to improve capacity within and access to the province's justice system. This includes new funding for virtual bail, the B.C. Coroner's Service and Victims' Services. Specifically, the budget said spending would enhance security at the Vancouver Provincial Court at 222 Main Street. In February 2024, there was an attack on a prosecutor near the courthouse. B.C.'s Crown Counsel Association said the incident underscored the need for a "serious discussion" about whether it should be moved away from the Downtown Eastside. For the expansion of B.C.'s virtual bail system, Budget 2025 said it would enable bail hearings to be conducted in communities throughout the province, "providing more timely access to justice." For homelessness, B.C. has had a program since 2023 to connect people living in encampments with health supports, shelter and housing options. The HEART and HEARTH programs have resulted in 15 sites across the province, which offer 611 temporary supportive homes or shelter beds. New for 2025 will be $90 million over the next three years to expand the programs in more communities. "Funding will support community-based wrap-around supports, including leveraging village-like housing as alternatives to encampments," said the province. New funding will also expand training capacity for police recruits by 50 per cent from 192 to 288 officers per year.
