By Chris Beach

Northern View

The Northern View: BC Budget 2024

Feb 28, 2024 | 2:19 PM

Last week BC Finance Minister Katrine Conroy unveiled the provincial budget for 2024, announcing nearly $90 billion dollars in total spending for the year and a record $7.9 billion annual deficit for the province.

By the end of 2027 BC’s total debt is now projected to reach almost $130 billion, which means it will have doubled since the NDP took power in 2017. It took from 1871 to 2017 – 146 years – to build up a debt of about 65 billion… and in only ten years the NDP will have added another 65 billion dollars.

So while it may not be surprising that in an election year the NDP government is doling out cash like a gambler in Vegas, it is disappointing to say the least. The whole point of deficit spending is to pay down the debt while the economy is doing well, like right now, while most people are working, paying taxes and contributing to government coffers… And then take out the government credit card when things are not going well and people are not working, like during Covid. But this BC budget is doing the complete opposite. Even during Covid the NDP only ran a budget deficit of $5 billion, when interest rates were a lot lower than they are today.

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Servicing on the provincial debt will now go up by nearly 40% in the next three years, with taxpayers footing the bill for over $4 billion dollars this year alone on debt interest payments.

This government has opted to do things like give us a single $100 rebate for an entire year of energy bills, hoping that 100 bucks in our hand will put a smile on our face when we go to vote this fall. Not exactly strategic planning for the future.

So it’s the same old, same old, spend big in an election year and worry about the impact down the road. If you are concerned about the next generation’s ability to pay off this debt, or even just pay the interest on it, then you might want to consider letting the NDP government know on election day that we’re not as predictable as they think we are, and we actually care about the future financial viability of the province. I’m Chris Beach and this is the Northern View.

Editors note: The views expressed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of Pattison Media.