Federal Budget Has Local Perks

PRINCE GEORGE — For local governments, the federal budget announced yesterday had plenty to be pleased about. One of them was a commitment of $230 million dollars over five years to provinces and territories to help them cope with the crisis. And it isn’t just a Big City issue.

“Our first responders here in Prince George have had to be trained to be proficient in the administration of naloxone,” says Garth Frizzell, Prince George City Councillor and 2nd Vice President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. “[The opioid crisis] is significant and it’s not just in the big cities.”

President of the Union of BC Municipalities, Murry Krause, is also pleased with the government re-commitment to the 25/75 federal/provincial break down of the re-distribution of the revenues from the sale of cannabis.

“I think one of the things, of course, that we’re very pleased with is [the federal government] expects to see a substantial amount of what they’re giving to the provinces and territories going to local governments,” he says. “We are the people on the front line that will be dealing with the issue.”