The Liberal government rolled out its pre-election $50.2-billion budget for 2017 on Feb. 21.
In what Finance Minister Mike de Jong called “the people’s budget”, the fiscal plan offers spending hikes for child welfare, education and health care, and tax relief for businesses among its attributes.
But many of the candidates in the Nanaimo-North Cowichan riding are taking exception to many aspects of it
Green candidate Lia Versaevel said she found the budget “very typical” of a Liberal government in pre-election mode.
She said it’s “tragic” that the Liberals are obviously far more concerned with their corporate friends than “individual interests” in B.C., and the government could have done a lot more with its budget to help the people of the province.
“It looks to me that they thought they would throw some band aids at a number of issues and hope some of them stick,” Versaevel said.
“People had hoped there would be something better for the kids in public education and care. It makes me sad that they are now giving back some of the money they have taken out of education over the years, but a lot of it won’t make it back to the classrooms.”
But Liberal candidate Alana DeLong said she’s “really pleased” with the budget.
She said it has a combination of spending cuts and increases on a number of programs and issues that many people in Nanaimo-North Cowichan had hoped it would.
“I’m getting lots of favourable comments on the planned cuts to the Medical Services Plan premiums because that’s a tax that has been onerous for the middle class,” DeLong said.
“There’s quite a bit in this budget that hit home with many in the riding and across the province.”
DeLong said planned increases in funding for education in the budget were also asked for by many because it’s widely recognized that education is key to the province’s success.
“I’m pleased that the government has managed the province’s books well enough to now start cutting taxes,” she said.
“That is the result of everyone in B.C. working together to grow the economy so we can have more money to pay for things that we care about.”
Independent candidate P. Anna Paddon also said she was pleased with the plans to cut MSP premiums in half by next year.
But she said she would prefer that the MSP costs to the public be cut entirely, and right away.
Paddon said she believes the surplus the government is declaring in its budget would be best dealt with in Nanaimo-North Cowichan if the riding was represented by an independent candidate.
She said MLAs in the mainstream parties have to follow their leaders on spending priorities, even if it means little or no government funding ends up in their ridings.
“An independent MLA would be more effective in Nanaimo-North Cowichan to lobby for some of that surplus money for things like a bridge or a tunnel to the mainland,” Paddon said.
“We can also use more funding to deal with helping people on low incomes in Nanaimo-North Cowichan to have places to live and a good quality of life.”
NDP incumbent Doug Routley called it a “forget everything” budget.
He said the budget is merely the Liberals giving back a “little bit of cash” to taxpayers after years of depleting funding to education and other services to children and seniors.
“The government expects that by giving some of our own money back to us in this budget, we’ll forget their mistreatment over the years,” Routley said.
“But I believe people see through this and won’t forget.”
Routley said he is encouraged by the government’s “baby steps” toward lowering MSP premiums, but he’s concerned that there’s no indication as to when the tax will be completely eliminated.
“The Liberals will only be there for their wealthy donors,” he said.
“If the NDP are elected, we intend to ban donations from corporations and unions. Democracy will not go to the highest bidder in B.C.”