With Ottawa gearing up for more pandemic-driven spending and B.C. about to distribute a second round of payments to households with income up to $175,000, soaring debt at all levels of government has business people concerned.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to indenture generations here if weB次元官网网址檙e not careful,B次元官网网址� said Greg DB次元官网网址橝vignon, CEO of the Business Council of B.C.

BCBC released an Ipsos Public Affairs survey this week showing 79 per cent of respondents concerned that B.C. Premier John HorganB次元官网网址檚 campaign promises are going to lead to higher taxes and debt.

Speaking after his first post-election cabinet meeting Dec. 2, Horgan defended his key election promise to send out $1,000 to households and $500 to individuals. The B.C. legislature is being called into a brief session next week to authorize the additional borrowing, with the current-year deficit already near $13 billion and next yearB次元官网网址檚 budget still to come.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 prudent to do it because itB次元官网网址檚 putting dollars into peopleB次元官网网址檚 pockets so they can continue to get through the most challenging time British Columbians have ever known,B次元官网网址� Horgan said. B次元官网网址淭his is going to be means tested, itB次元官网网址檚 going to be low-income families and individuals who will get access to resources that they wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have had otherwise.B次元官网网址�

The B次元官网网址渕eans testB次元官网网址� was partially revealed in the NDP campaign platform, after Horgan added the payments to counter a B.C. Liberal promise to suspend sales tax next year. The one-time direct payment goes to families with annual income under $125,000, B次元官网网址渨ith a sliding scale up to $175,000.B次元官网网址� For single individuals, the B次元官网网址渟liding scaleB次元官网网址� reduces $500 payments from $62,000 to $87,000 income.

Legislation to be tabled next week will show the actual reductions for higher income earners, and whether any test of lost income is to be used.

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DB次元官网网址橝vignon notes that B.C. residents have already collected $9 billion in Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB) payments, the second highest of any province. Federal spending has been highest among developed countries, pushing average income up 11 per cent even as the economy contracted.

Meanwhile, B.C.B次元官网网址檚 economic growth before the pandemic was driven almost entirely by energy projects.

B次元官网网址淚f not for LNG Canada, Site C, Trans Mountain pipeline and some office towers in Vancouver and Victoria, we would have been essentially flat,B次元官网网址� he said.

Ravi Kahlon, B.C.B次元官网网址檚 new minister of jobs and economic recovery, pointed to latest Statistics Canada labour force survey as a sign that B.C. is coming out of the COVID-19 recession.

B次元官网网址淪ince the pandemicB次元官网网址檚 most severe impact on the economy in April, B.C. has had substantial job growth for seven consecutive months, bringing our total employment to 98.5 per cent of pre-pandemic levels,B次元官网网址� Kahlon said Friday. B次元官网网址淭his is the highest job recovery rate of any of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 four largest provinces.B次元官网网址�

tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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