Few surprises from Finance Minister Carole James as NDP deliver stay the course Budget for 2020 on Tuesday

Finance Minister Carole James delivered her third Budget for the
BC NDP Government on Tuesday afternoon

High income earners, viewers of video streaming services such as Netflix and those who enjoy their sugary pop drinks will be the among those to soon feel the pinch from the BC government's taxation department.

That following the rollout Tuesday afternoon of the NDP Government's Third Budget since taking power in 2017.

In her delivery of the document, Finance Minister Carole James for the most part presented a stay the course financial plan, with the combination of taxes and financial tweaking for a range departments assisting the government to deliver a surplus for the third consecutive year.

Looking ahead,  Ms. James outlined a three year timeline of continued surpluses ahead.

$227 million for 2020-21
$179 million for 2021-22
$374 million for 2022-23

Budget Day 2020, provided for a look at some of the past success and charted a course towards continuing on the progress for the future, with Ms. James highlighting the focus that the NDP government will continue to put towards initiatives for the people of British Columbia.

“From new roads, hospitals, housing, schools and child care centres to better, more affordable services in every community, we’re seeing fundamental changes that are making life better for British Columbians. Together, we’ve made a lot of progress and we can’t turn back. Budget 2020 keeps our province moving forward by focusing on people.”

There was not a lot new in the 2020 version of the financial blue print and for Prince Rupert, there was a brief shout out of sorts; one to reflect on last years financial commitment towards provincial funding for water infrastructure in this community.

"Our government knows that for many communities paying for the infrastructure that people and businesses need can be tough, or almost impossible on their own. That is why we are investing in rural communities in a way that works for them. Soon, people in Williams Lake will be able to connect at a new community centre. For Osoyoos and Prince Rupert, this new funding will resolve longstanding problems with the quality of their drinking water."

Over in the Skeena Riding, the plans for the new Mills Memorial Hospital gained even more traction from the Finance Minister's notes on the day.

Terrace also received a passing mention when it came to funding for student housing, with a nod towards housing plans for the main campus of Coast Mountain College.

One item of increases towards further spending that might have caught the ear of Northwest municipal officials and housing advocates was an additional commitment towards housing for the homeless, something which remains a key issue to be resolved in Prince Rupert.

Much of the existing funding for a range of Provincial ministries and programs will remain the same or be trimmed somewhat, while some areas will see expanded financial input.

Among them the creation of the BC Access Grant for students to provide for up to 4,000 dollars towards up front costs of tuition for more than 40,000 low and middle income students.

“B.C.’s future is bright and filled with opportunity. With the new BC Access Grant, we’ll put a college or university education within reach for thousands more British Columbians,” James said. “These grants will make a difference for students, and they’ll help B.C. businesses find the skilled people they need.”

The hard hit forestry sector will continue to see assistance by way of 13 million dollars in new forestry revitalization initiatives.

The province will also commit an additional 410 million dollars over three years towards their CleanBC program, that money will be in addition to the previous investment of nearly 900 million from last year towards a range of projects under the Clean BC banner.

Ms. James also outlined the scope of the new BC Child Opportunity Benefit, which will be in place and running by October 2020.

That program will provide 290,000 families in the province with more money to support their Children.

Combined with B.C.’s Affordable Child Care Benefit and the Fee Reduction Initiative for licensed child care spaces,  the bottom line one notes that families with one child may save up to $20,000.

While Families with two children could save up to $28,000 each year.

The Finance Minister also made note of recent changes to both ICBC and the provinces MSP premiums, which the NDP say will put more money back into the hands of British Columbians.

The Provincial Governments ambitions towards Reconciliation with Indigenous residents also claimed a significant amount of content and financial input, the range of planning and commitments outlined in the Building the foundations of Reconciliation portion of the backgrounder.

Canada Day will be the day of action towards raising some revenues, the price of your sugary pop beverages set to go up with a seven percent tax to be introduced and those who like to settle in with some Netflix viewing or through other streaming services soon to find that the PST is now part of their subscription package when we celebrate our national day.

The richest of the rich in BC will now have to dig in a bit deeper as well, with a 3.2 per cent raise on their taxable income; that with the new rate set at 20.5 percent for the top earners at the red line bar of  $220,000 or more that the NDP has set.

A full recap of he Budget elements can be explored here, while the full Budget Speech is available here.

The Government also hosts an archive page of all of the various elements of the financial plan which you can examine here.

Among those on hand for the Finance Minister's third budget was Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain, who managed to find some prime viewing space in the BC Legislature for Budget Day, seated in the third row of the Legislature floor on the Liberal side of the House.

Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain was on hand for the 2020 Budget speech
at the Legislature, above he's seated behind Liberal MLA Ellis Ross
as he listens to the Opposition Finance Critic Shirley Bond

The Mayor's primo spot put him close enough to Skeena MLA Ellis Ross that he could have slipped him a note of congratulation on the news related to the Mills Memorial Hospital if he had wanted to; his seating arrangement making him a constant companion in the television frame for the Opposition Finance critic and Prince George area MLA Shirley Bond.

Something which made Mayor Brain and his varied expressions a somewhat familiar sight for those watching at home by the time that Ms. Bond had finished her review of the financial plan for the NDP.

So far, the Mayor has not offered up any notes through his Social media feed related to his trip to Victoria.

Perhaps saving his observations for Monday's City Council session, when he may provide his overview on how the City of Prince Rupert views the province's financial themes of Budget week.

The full Provincial Budget address from the Finance Minister and Liberal response can be viewed from Tuesday's Legislature Broadcast.

You can review some of the overview of Budget 2020 from the provincial media, through our political portal D'Arcy McGee and our Victoria Viewpoints feature.

For more items of note related to the North Coast and Skeena Ridings and representation at the Legislature see our archive pages below:

North Coast

Skeena and Stikine