With 11 months to redefine itself for voters, Premier Christy ClarkB次元官网网址檚 B.C. Liberal government has dialed back its boasting about four consecutive balanced budgets, and has begun creating the impression of a minor spending spree.
It picked up with a series of education funding announcements. First Education Minister Mike Bernier unveiled an increase to the provinceB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渇ix-it fund,B次元官网网址� as he calls it.
This is not to be confused with the annual B次元官网网址渇acilities grantB次元官网网址� provided to school districts each year, or the carbon tax collected from schools and hospitals that is then doled out for approved energy upgrades.
The B次元官网网址渇ix-it fundB次元官网网址� was $20 million last year, but this past March, Bernier announced it was increased to $40 million, and called for districts to propose roof, electrical, heating and other projects that could be done by March 2017.
After going through the submissions, Bernier announced in mid-May that the fund is up to $45 million. The increase is not new money, he assured reporters. That means itB次元官网网址檚 taken from the next two years of the three-year education budget.
Hence my reference to B次元官网网址渃reating the impressionB次元官网网址� of a spending spree. Or perhaps Cowichan Valley NDP MLA Bill RoutleyB次元官网网址檚 favourite expression captures it best: B次元官网网址渏iggery-pokery.B次元官网网址�
Then Bernier found another $25 million for struggling school district operations, by returning B次元官网网址渁dministrative savingsB次元官网网址� his ministry had required from districts for the second year running. With some school districts charging for bus service or cutting it out entirely, the B次元官网网址渁dministrative savingsB次元官网网址� argument wasnB次元官网网址檛 doing so well.
The B.C. NDP ran its last election campaign on the assertion that the 2013 budget wasnB次元官网网址檛 going to be balanced, despite a run of land sales to stop the flow of red ink left from buying the province out of the harmonized sales tax.
But B.C. Liberal Finance Minister Mike de Jong did balance the books, with the help of a temporary tax increase on incomes of $150,000 and up.
Then came last yearB次元官网网址檚 federal election, and balanced budgets got a bad name. Justin TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 Liberals insisted the Stephen Harper Conservatives were running a hidden deficit and starving us into recession. Trudeau promised B次元官网网址渕odestB次元官网网址� deficits of no more than $10 billion a year to stimulate the economy.
Federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair promised to balance the budget while still providing national daycare and other big-ticket services. He lost, and his party turned away from him and from B次元官网网址渁usterity,B次元官网网址� as borrow-and-spend enthusiasts like to call paying for public services as you go.
NDP leader John Horgan took note of the apparent shift in public mood to tolerate borrowing. The NDP under Adrian Dix promised deficit spending four years ago, but wrapped it in a claim it would only spend the B.C. LiberalsB次元官网网址� alleged hidden deficit. That didnB次元官网网址檛 work very well.
In 2017, will Horgan follow MulcairB次元官网网址檚 path or TrudeauB次元官网网址檚? He is careful not to commit himself now on specific positions, but in a recent interview with The Vancouver Sun, Horgan did question the need to account for the costs of every promise.
B次元官网网址淛ustin Trudeau didnB次元官网网址檛 cost a damn thing,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd Donald TrumpB次元官网网址檚 not costed a damn thing, nor did Bernie Sanders, and I donB次元官网网址檛 imagine Hillary Clinton will either.B次元官网网址�
Actually, Trudeau did cost his platform for voters. Then, after winning a majority, he threw those estimates out and tripled the forecast deficits.
Canada spent itself into a huge hole in the 1970s, and it took until the 1990s to get out of it. WeB次元官网网址檒l soon find out if that lesson is lost on a new generation of voters.
Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press. Email: tfletcher@blackpress.ca Twitter: @tomfletcherbc
