Orders of the Day

Hon. K. Conroy: Hon. Speaker, I move that this House, at its next sitting, resolve itself for this session into a committee to consider supply to be granted to His Majesty.

Motion approved.

Presentation of Estimates

ESTIMATES OF SUMS REQUIRED
FOR THE SERVICE OF THE PROVINCE

Hon. K. Conroy presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: Estimates of Sums Required for the Service of the Province for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, and a supplement to the estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, recommending the same to the Legislative Assembly.

Hon. K. Conroy moved that the said message and the estimates accompanying the same be referred to the Committee of Supply.

Motion approved.

Budget Debate

Hon. K. Conroy: Hon. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Premier of British Columbia:

[That the Speaker do now leave the Chair for the House to go into Committee of Supply.]

I would like to begin by acknowledging the lək̓ʷəŋən people, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, upon whose territories we are gathered today.

It is an honour to present Budget 2024, a budget that delivers solutions to meet today’s challenges, that builds on a strong foundation to address the pressure people feel today. It’s a budget that brings more opportunities within reach for hard-working people, because whether you live in a city, a town, a rural or First Nations community, many of us share a common hope for our future and that of our children and grandchildren.

We all want to work hard and get ahead. Everyone wants a decent home in the community they love, and we all need access to quality health care, including a family doctor. Budget 2024 delivers on these priorities while continuing to build an economy that works better for everyone.

There’s a lot of work ahead of us, but we are starting from a place of strength. B.C. is a great place to live, where people can put down roots and raise a family. We’ve got good opportunities today and the resources we need to succeed in the future.

Wherever you call home, there is incredible natural beauty at our doorstep. For me, the Kootenays are home. It’s where I’ve worked as the first woman at the local pulp mill, as an instructor for early childhood education at Selkirk College, as an executive director of a non-profit. That’s where I breed cattle on my farm.

The Kootenays are where we chose to raise our family, and it’s a place where I proudly live today as the Minister of Finance. While I can’t say I’m the very first Finance Minister from rural B.C., I can say it’s been awhile.

Our government has shown that we can put people first and build a strong economy. Some said this wasn’t possible. They argued that increasing the minimum wage would hurt job numbers. B.C. now has the highest minimum wage of any province and some of the strongest self-employment growth in Canada.

They said we couldn’t afford to build a universal child care system from the ground up. In fact, affordable and accessible child care has contributed to more than 100,000 women joining the workforce since 2017.

They said we couldn’t fight climate change while growing B.C.’s natural resource sector. Yet emissions are down, and projects like the Cedar LNG facility are moving forward. It’s going to be the largest First Nations majority–​owned energy project in the country and one of the cleanest liquefied natural gas facilities in the world.

These are just a few examples of the action our government is taking to make life better for people right around the province.

[1:10 p.m.]

Now, I do want to recognize the times we find ourselves in. B.C. is an economic leader in Canada, but too many people are still struggling to get ahead. Global inflation and high interest rates have made everything from housing to groceries more costly. With a slower global economy, we are feeling the effects here in British Columbia. At the end of the day, people have a lot on their minds right now, and they’re feeling stretched.

My family is no exception. We often get together for small family dinners, and by small, I mean about 35 of us. As a granny to nine grandchildren and many more grandnieces and -nephews, I hear from their parents how access to affordable child care was life-changing.

From my own experiences and that of other relatives, I see how important it is to have access to a family doctor and health care close to home. And while housing has been out of reach for so long for many people, I’m starting to hear stories that give me hope.

This one chokes me up. With more homes being built and short-term rentals coming up for sale in her Kelowna neighbourhood, my granddaughter sees a future where she could own her own first home. It won’t be tomorrow, and it’ll take a lot of hard work, but she said to me: “I think it’s possible, Granny.”

These are the conversations so many families are having at kitchen tables right across the province. As Finance Minister, I want you to know that when times are tough, our government works for you. We have your back. And we will continue taking action for you so more people feel hopeful about their future here.

Some look at the challenges ahead and say government should respond with deep cuts, leaving people to fend for themselves. This would only weaken the services we all rely on and drive up costs with added fees and fares. It would leave people at risk to those who take unfair advantage by putting profits ahead of people.

We see this in the current housing crisis. After decades where the housing markets served the interests of invest­ors and speculators, even those who earn a decent income are finding it hard to afford a home, and that doesn’t sit well with our government.

To further crack down on speculators, Budget 2024 will bring in the new B.C. home-flipping tax. To those who just want to make a quick buck by flipping homes, things are about to get more difficult. If a home is sold within two years of purchase, the profit will be taxed, and the revenue will go right back into building middle-class homes for people.

We all understand that life can change quickly, so there will be exceptions. But our government will always go after bad actors, whether they’re dealing in real estate, money laundering, organized crime and more. We’ll continue to stand with working people, through higher wages, better protections on the job and by ending MSP premiums, to deliver the largest middle-class tax cut in a generation.

Budget 2024 continues to put people first and keeps building on a strong foundation. We are taking action to fix today’s big challenges and secure a brighter future for everyone. We’ll do this by helping people with everyday costs, delivering more homes around B.C., strengthening health care and the services people rely on with steady in­vestments, and by building a stronger, cleaner economy that works better for people.

Whether I’m at home in Pass Creek or at work in Victoria, I hear from those who are worried about everyday costs going up. While inflation has made things worse, people have been feeling stretched for a while. That’s why our government has been helping with costs for years. We took tolls off bridges, made transit free for children under 12. And ICBC car insurance rates have been frozen or cut, on average by $500 a year, for drivers.

We became the first province in Canada to make prescription contraception free, saving a person up to $300 a year on birth control pills or up to $10,000 over a lifetime. We cut child care fees by up to an average of $900 per month, and we made a historic investment in school meal programs and contributed $60 million to the student and family affordability fund. This helps school districts cover extra costs like school supplies, field trips or band instruments and school sports.

I recently visited a school in Surrey and heard from a principal what a difference this has made for her students not just at school but at home as well. As a principal, she said she hopes students and families can continue to count on this support, and today I’m happy to say yes, they can. We will be replenishing the student and family affordability fund, with more details to come soon.

Our government has long been focused on reducing costs for education so people can get the training they need to land a better-paying job. I think of Tarah, who completed a bachelor’s degree with plans for a master’s program. As a former youth in care, she was able to do this for free in British Columbia.

[1:15 p.m.]

Tarah will be the first in her family to graduate from university and, as she describes it, the one to break a gen­erational cycle. A little extra money can make life easier, and it can bring your dreams a little closer. We know there’s more to do.

In an expensive world, Budget 2024 takes targeted action to keep more money in your pocket. A new B.C. electricity affordability credit will save seniors, families and individuals an average of $100 on their household bills over the next year. The average small businesses will save around $400 over the year. The credits will appear on bills from April to next March.

Many families will already be familiar with the B.C. family benefit. Now, starting in July, more parents will receive more money as we launch bonus payments for one year. The B.C. family benefit bonus will add 25 percent to the benefit and go to about 340,000 families.

With the year-long bonus, a family of four will receive as much as $3,563, and a single parent with one child will receive up to $2,688. This works out to an average of $445 extra per year. Parents can use the money to help with anything, from groceries to registering their kids for the sports teams that they’ve always wanted to go to.

With these targeted measures, Budget 2024 will help keep your bills down and more money in your pocket at the end of each month.

For so many of us, housing costs are the greatest ex­pense we face, whether it’s rent or mortgage payments. The housing crisis is complex. It’s been made worse by decades of inaction, where governments of all levels left it to the private market to deliver homes. Prices went up as governments stepped back and speculators moved in. That’s why we’re bringing in the home-flipping tax as our latest measure to crack down on bad actors.

The problems facing our housing market have deep roots. Our government is responding with big solutions that’ll deliver more homes for people. We’re starting to see progress.

Nearly 78,000 homes are complete or underway. There’s been a 30 percent increase in new rental homes registered, a leading indicator of housing activity. And we’re turning short-term rentals into long-term homes, changing outdated zoning and building housing near transit so people save money and enjoy more time with their families.

This is all promising, but our team is nowhere near satisfied. Budget 2024 will build more housing and help first-time homebuyers break into the market, because even with a good job and steady saving, it’s tough to put together a down payment these days. As a result, there’s more pressure on the housing market with people renting for longer. But as most people will tell you, every little bit helps.

The first-time-homebuyer program was designed to provide that financial boost. But the program no longer reflects the realities of today’s housing market. That changes with Budget 2024. First-time homebuyers will save up to $8,000, thanks to a reduced bill for property transfer tax. We expect up to 14,500 people, twice as many as before, will now be eligible for support to buy their first home.

Additionally, people will pay a reduced amount of property transfer tax when they buy a newly built home. There is more to do, but these targeted, practical changes will help more middle-income people move up the home ownership ladder.

Just over a week ago our government launched BC Builds. BC Builds will leverage government-owned, public and underused land and low-cost financing to bring down construction costs and deliver more middle-class housing.

Think of homes built on top of community hubs like recreation centres and libraries. Think about transforming an empty parking lot into homes for middle-class families. BC Builds will turn these ideas into action.

One of the best features is that these homes will be in­come-tested when a person moves in. Most residents will be spending no more than 30 percent of their income on rent. This will be a welcome relief for many, but I know there are renters who need support today. Our government has capped rent increases below the rate of inflation and boosted the B.C. Rent Bank. This is also the first year that people can receive up to $400 through a renter’s tax credit.

[1:20 p.m.]

Budget 2024 will also introduce a property transfer tax exemption for new, purpose-built rental buildings. This is a temporary measure that will help get more rental homes built in communities across B.C.

Strong public services, including health care, have always been foundational to our province, and today people are coming to B.C. in record numbers. They bring their skills as doctors, nurses, teachers and as people working to build homes, hospitals and schools. In return, we need to make sure everyone has access to the services that we all count on. For many people, quality health care is top of mind, and with good reason.

There are new pressures on our health care system, in­cluding a worldwide labour shortage, a retiring health workforce and a growing population. We’re taking steps to confront these challenges and strengthen health care in B.C. by adding 700 family doctors and over 6,000 nurses, by allowing pharmacists to prescribe for minor illnesses, by making international credential recognition faster and by developing a new medical school at SFU, the first to be built in western Canada in more than 50 years.

To build on this foundation, Budget 2024 will provide an additional $6 billion over the fiscal plan to strengthen health care. We are expanding home and community care services for more seniors so they can live healthy, independent lives in their homes. New or upgraded long-term-care homes are on the way for communities around B.C., including Abbotsford, Nanaimo, Cranbrook and Prince George.

We’re also continuing to build a better, more connected system of mental health and addictions care, where people get the right support at the right time, whether it’s with the newly dedicated team at St. Paul’s Hospital or at the Red Fish Healing Centre.

These are the kind of supports that made all the difference for Tyson, now a peer educator at the New Roads recovery community in Victoria. In just six months, he has gone from being in jail to getting care and becoming an advocate for people with mental health and addictions. Now Tyson is helping others on their journey.

Cancer has touched the lives of everyone in this prov­ince, whether it’s your own fight or that of a friend or family member. Delivering better cancer care is a key focus of this year’s budget. Work continues on B.C.’s cancer action plan with more cancer care teams, support for research and help for patients who need to travel from rural communities.

We’re also making advances on screening with Canada’s first provincewide lung screening program and at-home HPV test. These measures are already saving lives, as Christina from Port Alberni knows firsthand. She found pre-cancerous cells through an at-home HPV test. After treatment, she’s living cancer-free.

Budget 2024 will commit an additional $270 million over three years to the fight against cancer. This will help strengthen prevention and screening services, like the test Christina did, and deliver treatment to people.

Cancer care centres are also on the way for Surrey, Burnaby, Nanaimo and Kamloops. All of those will pro­vide better care closer to home. We will continue working to fix the gaps in services and infrastructure left behind by previous governments, because as B.C.’s population grows and ages, we can’t afford not to make those investments.

I think about the big family dinners at my house and the joy being a grandparent brings me. Everyone who wants to have a child….

Darn, menopause. Sorry. Okay, I've got it.

Everyone who wants to have a child should have the opportunity to do so. How­ever, infertility and other barriers can pose challenges. In vitro fertilization, or IVF, is one option, but it can be expensive.

People who want to start a family should be able to, regardless of their relationship status, who they love or how much money they make. Starting on April 1 of next year, one cycle of IVF will be free in British Columbia. Budget 2024 commits $68 million over the fiscal plan to implement the program.

[1:25 p.m.]

I know this will be welcome news for many, whether it’s a person looking to have a child on their own, people who are experiencing infertility or a same-sex couple who has tried other methods. This will help more people on the path to parenthood.

This year’s budget also includes significant support for education and services for young people. K-to-12 education is one of our government’s top priorities, and that’s reflected in this year’s budget. We’re responding to growing student enrolment with $968 million for more teachers and support staff in classrooms.

We’re also committing a historic $4.2 billion over the next three years to build, renovate and seismically upgrade schools and playgrounds right across the province. That’s more than double what was committed in 2017.

To make sure children with learning needs have sup­port to thrive at home and in the classroom, we are helping more families access services for individualized autism support. To help children with learning differences like dyslexia, this year’s budget commits $30 million over the next three years. New and expanded school outreach teams will help screen more than 150,000 students from kindergarten to grade 3.

Once the program is fully rolled out, we expect about 9,000 students per year will benefit from new literacy supports. As a former early childhood educator, I understand how important reading skills are for a child’s confidence and their success in life.

With this year’s budget, we are also improving front-line support for children and youth in care. This includes doubling the number of Roots workers to help Indigenous children in care and out-of-care homes remain connected to their culture and community.

The world is moving to a clean energy future. With B.C.’s strong economy, abundant natural resources and skilled workforce, we have what it takes to succeed. No matter where you call home, you should feel B.C.’s economy working for you, with jobs and opportunities for you and your family to build a good life.

Budget 2024 commits more than $1.3 billion over four years to fight climate change and keep building a cleaner economy in partnership with First Nations, communities and businesses.

Here in British Columbia, small business is big business. Small businesses create first jobs that turn into careers. They sponsor local sports teams, and they employ more than one million people in this province. However, it has been a tough couple of years.

Our government provided grants, not loans, to get them through the pandemic. But now small businesses are being squeezed by inflation and high interest rates. That is why our government is taking another step to help small and growing businesses with costs. We are doubling the exemption threshold for the employer’s health tax from $500,000 to $1 million. Effective immediately about 90 percent of businesses will be exempt from the tax. We’ve been hearing from business leaders that these savings will help to recruit and retain talent.

To support these plans, Budget 2024 continues to invest $228 million over three years in the future-ready action plan. It’s our government’s plan to close the skills gap em­ployers are facing and help people get the training they need to land a well-paying job. For example, we are creating 3,000 new tech seats at post-secondary institutes in areas like data science, life science, and agritech.

In our province, we have a talented and growing workforce, along with an abundance of resources. They are natural strengths, and they are creating good jobs and opportunities around B.C. In Maple Ridge, hundreds of people will be working at the new E-One Moli battery facility.

A capital investment of $36 billion in B.C.’s electrical grid will generate work for over 10,000 people a year in the next decade. And a new mass timber facility in Williams Lake is just one of many new manufacturing projects that will offer good, secure jobs.

Mining is another area of strength. We are a world-leading mining jurisdiction with the critical minerals to power a clean economy, from electric cars to wind turbines and solar panels. We’re ready to deliver with lower carbon emissions, good wages and working conditions, and in partnership with Indigenous peoples. Work is underway on a made-in-B.C. critical minerals strategy.

[1:30 p.m.]

Today we are committing $24 million to support further action on mine permitting in collaboration with First Nations, industry and communities.

People understand that a growing clean economy is good for people and it’s good for business. That’s why Budget 2024 continues to support CleanBC, our continent-leading climate action plan, with $318 million over the next three years. We’re making the cleaner choice the more affordable choice.

This year’s budget will expand heat pump rebates for low- and middle-income households. New funding will grow the public EV-charging network and help commun­ities build more active transportation options, like walking and biking paths.

Additionally, we are continuing to fight climate change by putting a price on pollution. When the price increases, every dollar of that increase will go back to the people through the climate action tax credit. Individuals will receive as much as $504 and a family of four up to over $1,000 through the tax credit. This will provide a meaningful boost for individuals, families and seniors.

There are some who say the cost of action on climate change is too great. I would say look at the record wildfires, floods and droughts we’ve experienced in the past few years. Think back to that night in November of 2021 when the Sumas River breached its banks.

A local man named Chris and three of his friends grabbed their gear and got to work reinforcing the Barrowtown pump station. They were soon joined by neighbours from Chilliwack and Agassiz. When asked about that night, Chris said: “I’m proud to say my neighbours fight.” There’s no doubt the fight against climate change will take all of us working together.

This year’s budget delivers $405 million over four years to better protect our communities from climate emergencies. We’re upgrading key infrastructure, like the Barrowtown pump station and the Cowichan Lake weir.

Built in the 1950s, the weir controls water flow into the Cowichan River. This has impacts on the local supply of drinking water and fish habitat, especially during drought. The regional district and Cowichan Tribes have been calling for a rebuild, and we’re proud to support this important project and partnership.

We are also committing more funding to the agricultural water infrastructure program. This will help farmers and communities better manage, collect and store water over the long term and during times of drought.

There are many lessons to be learned from last year’s devastating wildfire season, a key one being that emergency response is year-round work. When we’re not fighting fires, we need to clear our forests of fuel.

A total of $60 million in new funding for the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. will help with that and more. Additionally, we are providing more year-round wildfire response resources, including more fire crew leaders and front-line staff. More than 1,000 people have applied to the B.C. Wildfire Service as part of the latest recruitment.

To those who are gearing up for the next wildfire season, perhaps for the first time, thank you. And thank you to the First Nations, local governments and community leaders for your partnership.

Our province is stronger when there are good jobs, services and opportunities to be found in rural British Columbia. This is reflected in our government’s rural strategy, with measures to deliver real, on-the-ground results.

We are building homes and hospitals all around B.C. We are helping with costs when people need to travel for cancer care. We are supporting made-in-B.C. manufacturing to get more local jobs from every tree harvested.

We are connecting all residents to high-speed Internet by 2027. The impact is big for people, businesses and communities. A study by B.C. Stats predicts a $432 million boost to GDP over 20 years because of our government’s work to connect rural communities along the coast alone.

This year’s budget will help keep people and goods moving through rural parts of our province. New funding will improve access to First Nations communities via forest service roads, maintenance of critical roads and bridges and support for inland ferry service. Passengers on B.C. Transit will notice more zero-emission buses and benefit from the 358,000 hours of expanded transit service in the coming years.

[1:35 p.m.]

We want rural communities to be places where people can live, work and put down roots, where the prosperity generated by local people and resources is reflected in the community with the schools, hospitals and housing that all towns need to survive. That is why Budget 2024 will commit $250 million over five years to support the Northwest Resource Benefits Alliance.

Meanwhile, work is underway on projects funded through the $1 billion growing communities fund. Grants went to all 188 municipalities and regional districts to help respond to local needs, like building a new fire hall in Crof­ton, a new transit exchange to keep people moving in the Fraser Valley and more housing in the Bulkley-Nechako region. We’ll keep working with the Union of B.C. Municipalities and community leaders on infrastructure to support healthy villages, towns and cities.

Additionally, progress continues, with the federal government, on a national Indigenous loan guarantee program. We are establishing new provincial tools, including provincial equity loan guarantees, to support this ongoing work. If First Nations need to borrow funds to purchase an equity interest in a project, our government will provide guarantees to the lenders on those loans. We want to see this program grow over time to support the unique priorities of First Nations communities, from major electrification projects to community greenhouses.

Ultimately, this is one more way that our government is building a better, more equitable future. One where First Nations share the benefits of major projects that serve their communities, in their territories and on their terms.

When faced with global challenges, there is a choice to be made. Some would choose to cut services and raise fees. But our government won’t leave people behind to fend for themselves.

We have your back. We have a $43 billion capital plan to build a stronger British Columbia over the next three years where you can spend less time commuting and more time with your family, whether it’s through the Fraser River tunnel, the Pattullo Bridge, along Highway 1 in the Fraser Valley, from Kamloops to the Alberta border, or as a passenger on the Broadway subway and Surrey-Langley SkyTrain, the first major transit expansion south of the Fraser River in over 30 years.

We’re building a stronger B.C. where you can get the health care you need close to home. New or upgraded hospitals are on the way for Surrey, Burnaby, the Cowichan Valley, Dawson Creek, Williams Lake and more. I am pleased to say that a brand-new Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace will be open to patients later this year.

We’re building a stronger B.C. where you can get the skills to succeed in today’s economy, whether it’s studying skilled trades at BCIT’s future trades and technology campus or early childhood education at North Island College’s new centre opening next year.

Together we can get through today’s challenges and build a brighter future, where you can afford a decent home and still get ahead, where your family can count on good schools and health care, where opportunities you only dreamed of are within reach for your children and grandchildren.

These are the hopes that my family and I share around the dinner table. Budget ’24 will help to bring this future in reach for everyone who calls B.C. home.

P. Milobar: It’s my honour to rise, on behalf of the official opposition, in response to what is likely the NDP’s last provincial budget in this chamber.

[1:40 p.m.]

In fact, it’s maybe mislabelled as B.C. Budget 2024. It probably should have been fudge-it budget 2.0, as you dig through this document. I’ll explain why in my opening comments. Certainly, I’ll be reserving my time partway in and finishing off when we come back on Monday.

There are some fundamental underlying issues with this budget that the minister seemed to not want to acknowledge or address. I didn’t hear the applause from the other side when this government was talking about a record $8 billion deficit. Not once did the Finance Minister actually mention the fact that there’s a record deficit.

It’s important that we note that, because last year when there was what was going to be a record deficit, at least the contingencies in the budget were more than what that projected deficit was. Not this year. In fact, there is no forecast allowance in this year’s budget. The contingencies are less than half of what the overall deficit is projected to be, which means there’s only one way for this budget to go over the next several months. That’s down.

Now, why I reference the fudge-it budget is because history is an important thing in this place and for the residents of British Columbia. The creation of the Economic Forecast Council, the economists from around Canada that help advise the Finance Minister on where they see the provincial economy going relative to the rest of the country…. It was created as a result of the fudge-it budget to try to bring some accountability back into the budgeting process that was completely manipulated by the NDP government of the time.

Year over year over year since then, the Economic Forecast Council has advised government on what they see growth to be, and that helps form the basis of a lot of assumptions and risks within the budget. It’s significant when you’re talking of a budget that is now spending $89 billion, and when this government took office, it was 75 percent lower, at $54 billion. A 0.1 difference is a massive difference to the books.

Last year this government listened to the Economic Forecast Council and did what they always do. They actually went below the Economic Forecast Council’s projected growth of GDP for British Columbia and budgeted accordingly. Even at that, they were still behind on projections and saw a bigger deficit than they were projecting.

This year, in the backdrop of a record deficit — with the removal of forecast allowances, with the removal of contingencies that are higher than the projected deficit — they’ve actually chosen to budget higher growth than the Economic Forecast Council is projecting. It’s pretty convenient to do in an election year. I believe it was in an election year that we saw the last fudge-it budget in this chamber.

British Columbians deserve full transparency from this government when it comes to what they are doing. The minister talks about some programs, and I’ll touch on them in my comments. She at least acknowledges they’re for one year. So while the government this year is going to reach into taxpayers’ left pockets for an extra $4 billion and they’ll stuff a couple of hundred million dollars back into the right-hand pockets, next year they’re digging into both pockets again, because they’re one-year programs — once again, very convenient in an election. I think the public will see through that.

We heard a lot, in the speech, about the strong job growth in British Columbia. You only have to go to page 79 in their own budget document to see that it very clearly says that in fact private sector jobs have declined by 6,300 jobs in the last year. It doesn’t quite match up with what we heard in the throne speech just two days ago. It really does make one wonder what information this government is picking and choosing to insert into which speech at which time when they want to create a certain narrative.

[1:45 p.m.]

Now, at B.C. United, we’ve been trying to advance issues and ideas that we see in this budget for two years. For our leader, one of the first things he committed to when he became leader of B.C. United, B.C. Liberals at the time, was IVF. Three budgets later we see IVF finally appear. We fully support that it’s there. We think that’s great. We’ve asked for it for 22 months now. But in typical NDP fashion, it’s going to get mired over the next year in a think tank.

Now, the NDP government is not inventing IVF. They’re simply funding it. It’s a program that exists right now. People are accessing this now. People are taking out second mortgages and trying to figure out how to get lines of credit to access IVF now, as they have for the last 22 months.

In the backdrop of $32 billion of health care spending in this year’s budget, would it really have been that hard for the government to have found the $34 million to fund IVF immediately and give a billing number to the doctors so people could actually get that treatment now instead of waiting till after the next election to start it, in 2025?

We really need to have go through a bureaucratic, red-tape exercise to have a billing number for doctors and medical professionals that are already working with patients to provide IVF in the province. Talk about cynicism when it comes to a budget. That’s just one piece where this government is failing within this budget.

It’s all about the numbers within the numbers. B.C. United — we’ve been calling on the employers health tax to see a change in either the rates or the thresholds. We never dreamed the government would do what they did today, where yes, they increased the threshold for one set of businesses.

When we said, “Adjust the rates,” they must have misunderstood us. We meant: “Adjust the rates down.” Instead, what they’ve actually done is doubled the rate you pay if your payroll is over $1.5 million. Now, for most employers, that’s if you have around 30 or so employees, with what wages are today. That’s who will be hit with this.

Ask yourself how many greenhouse operators and agricultural operators have at least 30 people that work for them, a very labour-intensive form of agriculture. Their rates didn’t get reduced today, not as the Finance Minister would want those people to try to think. No. In fact, your cost of groceries with this budget just went up because of the added costs, the doubling of the rate that businesses will have to pay on employers health tax, while this side, the other side, was applauding.

All one has to do is look at the budget to see they’re slating to collect more actual dollars than they did last year. Only the NDP could collect more money and try to spin it as if they’re saving businesses money. The devil is always in the detail with this government.

Property transfer tax thresholds. B.C. United called for that and has committed for that to be $1 million for first-time homebuyers. It is currently $500,000. But if you go over $525,000, you get absolutely nothing right now under the current system. B.C. United committed that we would change it to $1 million to better reflect what has happened to the housing market under this Premier’s leadership of watching us become the most expensive housing market with the most expensive rents in North America.

Would this government match that? No. Instead, we have a convoluted system that they put forward that has moved the threshold, kept lower thresholds. It will save people, at a maximum, $8,000. That’s instead of doing what should have been done, as we’ve committed to, with the thresholds we’ve talked about, which would actually save $18,000 to that first-time homebuyer. You ladder that with our rent-to-own program, and you’d have people actually having hope that they could stay in British Columbia and get ahead, as the minister tried referencing.

[1:50 p.m.]

Again, it’s a budget of half-measures that isn’t actually going to help very many people. It’s critical that we provide that hope to younger people. That was the whole premise behind the B.C. United commitment around rent-to-own. Under this NDP government, it’s 37 years now, I believe, to save for a down payment. Under rent-to-own, you’d be maximum three years. That’s attainable. That’s something younger people can see a future for themselves in.

When you look in the budget documents — again, government-produced documents — there are issues that we need to address as a population. Our share of population in the country is projected to go down. That means transfer payments from the federal government will go down. That only happens when you have interprovincial migration as a negative number — 15 straight months, five straight quarters.

This is the problem. I get that the other side probably didn’t get access to the budget book either. We go through this exercise every year. They haven’t read the budget book; they’re listening to the speech from the minister. I would encourage them to read their own government-created document, wherein, as it says, for the last five straight quarters, or 15 months, there has been negative interprovincial migration, primarily to Alberta.

What’s happening in Alberta? Oh, housing is much cheaper. That’s why you literally see people flying on a plane twice a week from Calgary to Vancouver to go to UBC, because it’s cheaper than paying rent in Vancouver. That has not been addressed in this budget.

The speech makes it sound very good, and I would hope so. There are — what? — 500 communications people working for the government, helping to write speeches. One would hope they could come up with some language that would sound very pleasing, but it doesn’t deliver the results we’re looking for.

The problem with all of these things is that they start to connect together. We have interprovincial migration heading off to Alberta in record numbers. The last time we saw that was when the NDP was in government. Private sector job declines, page 79. On page 80, they’re projecting slower job gains. Page 81 is where they talk about the five consecutive quarters of interprovincial outflow of workers — teachers, firefighters, paramedics; you know, all those people we need to help people in our province leaving because they don’t see a future here.

Then you dig into some of the other numbers and the contradictions from this government, literally from a throne speech of two days ago to their own budget document today. We need all those same workers that I referenced to help battle the mental health and addiction crisis, an area where on Tuesday this government said there were 3,600 treatment spaces in British Columbia. On Thursday, when you read the budget document, they’re only funding 2,200.

In fact, the language is “maintain and continue funding,” not “increase funding.” There’s not one area…. The Mental Health and Addictions Minister is shaking her head at me, which is shocking because it’s actually her area. She should know that it’s “maintain and continue,” not “expand and increase.” That is the problem.

We have a government with record spending, record deficits and an operating deficit that, I would point out, when they took office and took over the reins of government, had been effectively wiped out. In today’s budget, it’s a $22 billion operating deficit. The government loves to talk about the capital side of the equation. We’re all in favour of building things, but we actually get stuff built, first off, and not delayed.

A $22 billion operating deficit in this year’s budget. The taxpayers at home are wondering: “What am I getting?” We’ve seen spending increase from $54 billion to $89 billion a year under this government’s watch since 2018-19, a 75 percent increase in spending.

[1:55 p.m.]

Does anyone at home feel their services are 75 percent better? Do they feel crime and safety is 75 percent better than it was before? Do they feel access to health care is 75 percent better than it was before? Do they feel their permitting times to get anything approved through government is 75 percent faster than it was before?

How about affordability? Do they think things are getting cheaper when the government keeps spiking how much they’re spending? Now, I know the minister likes to say, “Some people say ‘cut,’” and never wants to say who those “some people” are. I would challenge anyone on that side to find any quote of me saying we’re cutting health care, that we’re prepared to cut education. I would make it….

Interjections.

P. Milobar: Well, there we go. Mission accomplished. I guess we’d see how long they’d last before they start heckling on a day they don’t normally heckle.

I would challenge anyone on the government benches, because I, our leader at B.C. United, and everyone else in our caucus have been very clear that we’re not talking about cuts. We’re talking about efficient, effective use of tax­payers’ dollars and respecting them, instead of just overspending.

This is a government that has no problems reaching into the taxpayers’ pockets time and time again, and they can’t even live within that. They have ballooned people’s share of the debt from $8,500, when they took office, to $22,000 now.

I want the people at home to think about that in their own household budgets, if they could withstand it. You know who’s paying for that increase? The people at home. That is the overall problem with this budget. It simply doesn’t stand the test.

As I say, we have all sorts of measures that were real and tangible that B.C. United has pitched forward, and as we move through the budget, I think people are going to see a very clear compare-and-contrast opportunity.

When we said that we would remove the used-car tax on cars under $20,000, in this government it has fallen on deaf ears, despite warnings from their own staff that it will disproportionately impact low-income, male and rural people.

We said we would remove the provincial fuel tax of 14½ cents a litre. This government would say: “Oh, look at Alberta, though. They did that, and the prices went up.” What they don’t talk about is that in the same time frame, the prices in B.C. went up twice as much. So that price hike had nothing to do with the tax.

We said we would remove carbon tax on home heating bills. When you see people posting pictures online of $77 of carbon tax for home heating and $53 for gas, it’s a problem. This government won’t even freeze it. They’re proud that they’re raising it and are going to be even more punitive to homeowners. The property transfer tax threshold, again, is simply not good enough — no rent-to-own.

The PST on construction. B.C. United, in trying to bring down the price of housing construction, has committed that for all new construction, PST would be re­moved on those inputs.

What does this budget show us from this government? They’re projecting housing starts to flatline and go down a little bit, and at the same time, they’re projecting an ever-increasing amount of PST to be collected on new-home construction. On the one hand, the Premier wants to talk about bringing down the cost of housing in British Columbia and housing construction. On the other hand, his budget is literally budgeting on the per-square-foot cost of new construction to increase.

Once again, it’s their own budget document. The two simply don’t match. That is why, after 7½ years of rhetoric, people are seeing no results. This is a budget full of rhetoric and numbers that are questionable at best. There’s just so much that is to be covered.

I will take a little bit of leeway — with my colleague’s support, hopefully — because I am from Kamloops. I’m going to talk about just one local project that we’ve been fighting for now, for four years. It’s the Kamloops cancer centre. Now, that was promised by myself and my seatmate here during the election in 2020.

[2:00 p.m.]

Then Premier Horgan jumped in and suddenly made the same commitment a couple of days later and said that doors will actually be open by October of 2024. Since then, it’s just been one excuse after the other. Then this spring the Health Minister came to Kamloops and said that the doors would be open by 2027.

It’s amazing. From the spring of 2023 to 2027 is a four-year window, yet the minister was saying it was just so complicated they couldn’t get it done. From 2020 to 2024, it’s still a four-year window. I guess it was really around political will, not so much about construction timelines.

But I digress. That was just in the spring. The minister was just in Kamloops two weeks ago and said it would be open by 2028, so he had another delay. He says it will be open. He actually announced $359 million. Yet the amazing thing is that there’s no mention of $359 million for the Kamloops cancer centre in this budget anywhere.

Now I could understand, given that design is happening this year, that you might have more money in next year’s fiscal plan or the following year’s fiscal plan. But given that it’s a three-year fiscal plan, on a cancer centre that’s supposed to be substantively completed by the end of this three-year fiscal plan, one would think that at least in year​3 of the fiscal plan, there would actually be money.

You announced IVF today with no money in this year’s fiscal plan for it whatsoever. All the money is in year 2 and year 3, but you still announced it. It’s actually in a chart. You can actually tangibly see the money each year for IVF. Again, a good thing — very delayed, but a good thing.

You don’t see that for the cancer centre. In fact, you don’t see it for the Nanaimo cancer centre either — often talked about, never delivered upon.

Those are but some very salient examples, I guess, I’ll use the words, of why it’s important that the public dig into this budget document, that opposition dig into this budget document, that we actually have the full six days to debate this budget document, and that estimates happen in their entirety for this budget document. It’s because frankly, none of the numbers match the rhetoric we heard in the budget speech. They just simply don’t.

Even something like the flipping tax. Again, our leader of B.C. United has stated all along that we’re fine with the flipping tax, but it has to be effective and meaningful and actually make sense. Not only is it very confusing how it’s written in the books, and we’ll wait to see the legislation and dig into that, but it actually points out that it’s going to impact women more so. The government’s own budget book. Just like with the used cars, they have actually highlighted this is going to impact women more disproportionately.

Interesting way to introduce a tax — to knowingly do it where you know you’re going to impact women negatively, disproportionately to men. Again, all language is coming straight from their budget book, not that I’ve had to create whatsoever.

The bottom line is this. This budget is certainly not what it is hyped to be. I think people will see that over the next while. I certainly am confident that as we get into further scrutiny, people will see that.

Ironically, because the government decided to introduce the throne speech and the budget in such an interesting fashion, as we’ll call it, this year, back to back and on a Thursday, we’ll have all weekend now. Instead of the usual rush to go through tonight to figure out all the fine points and details for when we get back to budget speeches the next day, we’ll actually have all weekend to really scrutinize what this government is, frankly, not doing in this budget and all the missed opportunities.

When you have a budget that’s spending $89 billion and you have this many missed opportunities, that’s shocking. It’s just shocking.

It’s clear that this NDP budget is a complete mess, and it is set to only get worse. But rest assured, B.C. United has a plan to fix it.

Thank you for the time.

P. Milobar moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

[2:05 p.m.]

Introduction and
First Reading of Bills

BILL 3 — BUDGET MEASURES
IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2024

Hon. K. Conroy presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2024.

Hon. K. Conroy: I move that the bill be introduced and read a first time now.

I am pleased to introduce the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2024. This is the first budget measures im­plementation bill that will be introduced this session. The second bill, which will create a new tax statute for the flipping tax, will be introduced in early April.

This bill consists of two parts. Part 1 amends two statutes in order to implement non-tax measures in Budget 2024. An amendment is proposed to the Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act to include the ’26-27 fiscal year in the period of fiscal years for which budget deficits are allowed to be forecast in the main estimates. This is consistent with similar amendments made in recent years.

Amendments are also proposed to the Special Accounts Appropriation and Control Act to establish a First Nations equity financing special account. Under oversight and direction of Treasury Board, this special account authorizes the Minister of Finance to provide grants and equity loan guarantees intended to assist First Nations with meaningful equity participation in projects in the province where there is interest and readiness.

Part 2 amends a number of statutes in order to implement the tax measures in Budget 2024. Bill 3 amends the Nisg̱a’a Final Agreement Act, the Treaty First Nation Taxation Act and various other statutes to implement a new legislative framework. This will broadly enable modern treaty nations to self-determine their own ap­proaches to assessment and property taxation on their respective Nisg̱a’a lands or treaty lands effective as of the 2025 taxation year.

Bill 3 amends the Assessment Act to better align provincial assessment rules with unique aspects of Nisg̱a’a lands, treaty lands as well as the modern treaty nation governance.

The Assessment Act is also amended to provide B.C. Assessment with the authority to phase in assessment increases over five years, rather than three years, for certain linear properties. This is to provide flexibility for substantial increases to assessments for these properties.

The bill amends the Property Transfer Tax Act, effective April 1, 2024, to increase the newly built home exemption threshold from $750,000 to $1.1 million. It also increases the eligible property value threshold for the first-time homebuyers exemption from $500,000 to $835,000, with the first $500,000 exempt from property transfer tax.

The bill also provides exemption from the general property transfer tax for new purpose-built rental buildings acquired between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2030.

The bill amends the Speculation and Vacancy Tax Act to expand the definition of “registered occupier” to include all registered leaseholders of a residential property and to make technical amendments to the act.

The bill amends the Employer Health Tax Act to in­crease the exemption threshold at which remuneration becomes taxable, from $500,000 to $1 million. The bill also includes corresponding changes to implement the increase to the threshold.

The Income Tax Act is amended to introduce a temporary enhancement to the B.C. family benefit, to exclude animation productions from eligibility for the regional and distant location tax credits and to extend the training tax credits for apprentices and for employers as well as extend the shipbuilding and ship repair industry tax credit.

The Income Tax Act is also amended to exclude oil and gas exploration expenditures from the mining exploration tax credit, to extend the determination period for certain claimants under the B.C. emergency benefit for workers program, to extend deadlines under the clean buildings tax credit and to make various technical changes and to harmonize with federal income tax provisions.

The Insurance Premium Tax Act is amended to exempt farmers from insurance premium tax when paying premiums for provincial agricultural insurance programs offered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

Bill 3 authorizes retroactive regulations under the Carbon Tax Act so that qualifying retail dealers can use excess biomethane from previous reporting periods to issue biomethane credits in future reporting periods.

Technical amendments are also made to the Carbon Tax Act, the Motor Fuel Tax Act and Provincial Sales Tax Act regarding penalties and offences and to provide the director of tax a discretion to require electronic returns.

[2:10 p.m.]

Technical amendments are also made to the Provincial Sales Tax Act on refund rules, the production machinery and equipment exemption for clean energy and the PST treatment of software.

The bill also makes technical amendments to the Financial Administration Act and the Motor Fuel Tax Act regarding interest rules under the international fuel tax agreement.

Finally, the bill amends multiple tax and revenue statutes to harmonize appeal provisions under these statutes as well as other technical amendments.

The Speaker: Members, this is the first reading of the bill.

Motion approved.

Hon. K. Conroy: I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2024, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Tabling Documents

Hon. K. Conroy: I have the pleasure to rise to table government’s overall strategic plan and the budget and fiscal plan 2024-25 to 2026-27, which together fulfil the requirements of sections 7, 8, 10 and 12 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.

I also table, on behalf of the ministers responsible, the service plans as required under section 13 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.

The service plan documents are presented in two binders.

The first binder contains a service plan for the Office of the Premier and 23 ministries.

The second binder contains service plans for 30 service delivery agencies and Crown corporations. The second binder includes a listing of organizations that are exempt from the reporting requirement of section 13 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.

Hon. R. Kahlon moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

The Speaker: This House stands adjourned until ten o’clock Monday morning.

The House adjourned at 2:12 p.m.