Hansard — Tuesday, February 24, 2026 Afternoon, Issue No. 124

The riding of Ladysmith-Oceanside is made up of a number of small towns in rural areas, where people choose to live the small-town life so that they can leave their doors unlocked and their car keys on the passenger seat and know their neighbour.

Budget 2026 provides $139 million more over three years to reduce repeat violent offending and chronic property crime and supports timely access to justice. It includes $16 million for a new chronic property offending intervention initiative that strengthens monitoring and enforcement for crimes such as vandalism and shoplifting that are hurting businesses.

We know that these measures that we’re implementing are working. In Ladysmith-Oceanside, we have seen an 80 percent reduction in break and enters to local businesses over this time last year.

Small businesses are central to the identity and vitality of Ladysmith-Oceanside. They provide employment, foster creativity, and they sustain the unique community character that is Ladysmith-Oceanside. Budget 2026 includes measures that encourage business stability and growth, helping entrepreneurs adapt and thrive in evolving economic conditions.

[1:35 p.m.]

This includes a new, temporary 15 percent manufacturing and processing investment refundable tax credit for businesses investing in buildings, machinery and equipment used in manufacturing and processing.

We’ve also heard a lot about the $400 million strategic investment fund, which has never been seen before in B.C.’s history and allows us the opportunity to respond to the moments we’re in — the unpredictable, rapidly changing moments we’re in. That strategic investment fund is there for us to be able to make sure that we can respond to the unique opportunities that are being presented to us during this time. Supporting small enterprises ensures that communities retain their distinctiveness while generating economic momentum.

Tourism remains particularly important for Ladysmith-Oceanside. Visitors are drawn to us by our natural beauty, numerous cultural events and coastal experiences. My calendar in the summer is so full because of all the incredible events that happen in this riding, filled with tourists that contribute greatly to our local economy. This government’s continued investment supporting tourism promotion and infrastructure ensures that these opportunities will continue.

When small businesses succeed, the effects ripple onward through employment, mentorship and community engagement. This budget recognizes their importance as the engine of local prosperity. As a small business owner myself, a family supported by a small business, we welcome these opportunities.

British Columbia is served by over 15,000 volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers, including marine search and rescue. The Ladysmith marine search and rescue station is one of the busiest in the province. We are so thankful to them for their service.

In order to recognize the critical contribution that these volunteer first responders provide to the safety of British Columbians, this government has doubled the income tax credit from $3,000 to $6,000. I’m particularly proud of this. This is an initiative that started in Ladysmith-Oceanside with a local town councillor. Our local MP took it to the feds. He is the one who got it changed to $6,000.

I was so happy to pick up the torch and bring it to us, to the provincial government, to see that tax credit doubled by matching the federal tax credit for volunteer first responders. This government is saving families up to $900 a year when the provincial tax credit and the federal tax credit are combined.

Since Ladysmith-Oceanside is served entirely by volunteer and paid on call fire departments, search and rescue and RCMSAR volunteers, this is recognition of the critical work those volunteers do for the people of Ladysmith-Oceanside. Also, I’ve heard from our local governments that the tax credit will help smaller local governments recruit and retain volunteers at a time when those calls are increasing.

Budget 2026 reflects steady leadership and thoughtful planning during unprecedented times. It balances prudence with progress, ensuring that services remain strong while strategic investments continue. For the people of Ladysmith-Oceanside, this budget signals recognition of growth, potential and the contribution to provincial prosperity. It addresses priorities that matter locally while advancing broader provincial objectives during rapidly changing times.

I stand in support of Budget 2026 and the opportunities it represents for communities throughout British Columbia and for the residents of Ladysmith-Oceanside, who I am honoured to represent.

Ward Stamer: Thanks to the member previously for her remarks.

First off, I’d like to thank everybody in Kamloops–North Thompson for entrusting me as their member of the Legislature for the last year and a half. It has been a great thrill and privilege to be able to do that.

Today I’d like to delve into Budget 2026 with the understanding that, very similar to what we had last year, there seem to be an awful lot of promises in this budget, with not a lot of substance, because, again, it’s a three-year budget.

[1:40 p.m.]

A lot of times when we’re starting to determine exactly what is going to be spent or provided this fiscal year, there’s a lot of grey area, because it’s a three-year budget. Now, people will say: “Well, that’s how we do things around here.” Well, obviously, from the looks of the deficit and the way it’s growing, that’s really not what our side would want to continue. That’s why most of us, if not all of us, have been very critical on the delivery of this budget.

So today I rise to speak to Budget 2026, a budget that will not define only the fiscal direction of the province but also the living reality of our seniors, working families, forestry communities and patients across B.C. Again, budgets are not abstract documents. They’re incredibly important.

No, as the Finance Minister has stated, this is not a balanced budget. Only the NDP would believe in alternative truths. A balanced budget is revenues and expenses that balance equally, not a bunch of talk about: “We’re trying to balance our investments and keep our economy rolling.” Well, that is not what a balanced budget is, certainly not for people that try to balance their chequebook on a weekly and monthly basis, like many of us do.

A budget determines whether a senior can afford to remain in their home, a forestry worker can keep their job, a family can manage their mortgage renewal, a patient can find a family doctor and a rural emergency room can stay open. This budget is actually asking British Columbians to pay more — through higher taxes, frozen indexation and expanded consumption taxes — while offering no credible path back to balance. Not in the foreseeable future. Certainly not in the next three years.

No comprehensive forest stabilization plan, which we’ll get into a little bit later, and no structural reform to fix a health care system under serious strain.

Our B.C. deficit is now pegged at $13 billion. Debt continues to grow at a pace that was unthinkable a decade ago. Interest payments are now hovering around $5 billion a year. To put this into perspective strictly from a structural perspective, at the end of this year, we’ll have a structural deficit of $154 billion. In three short years, that will climb to $210 billion.

Structural deficits require structural reform, not just new taxes. When a government normalizes deficits, they normalize tax increases. Again, the truth is that only 8 percent of this budget is actually going to capital investments. The other 92 percent is basically in expenses.

Just think about that for a minute, when we talked about a balanced budget and the minister trying to balance investing money into our future in infrastructure projects. According to the budget, only 8 percent of our total budget is going into capital expenditures. The other 92 is in expenses and operating costs.

When the government normalizes deficits, it lets everybody down. It lets our seniors down. It lets our retirees down. As an example, our property taxes across the board in most locations in B.C. are rising between 5 and 10 percent per year. Home insurance has doubled in the last five years. Utilities, same, 5 to 10 percent.

Also, just as a reminder, our municipalities, both big and small, are under the strain from this government, because unlike this provincial government, municipalities, as I was fortunate enough to be a part of for many years, have to balance our budgets. That’s what this government should be doing as well, but we’ve lost sight of that.

When we look at increases in costs — groceries, fuel, prescription medications…. Many of our seniors are living on fixed incomes. They can’t absorb shocks. They can’t absorb these sudden increases. Yet this budget will increase the lowest income tax bracket; freeze the tax bracket indexation; and, obviously, expand the PST to way more services.

I’d like to talk about that just a little bit, if I could. This is right out of Securing B.C.’s Future. Last year it was: “Let’s build a stronger B.C.” So now we’ve got a new tag line: “Securing B.C.’s future.”

[1:45 p.m.]

It says right here: “Removing PST exemptions from some goods and services that were once deemed essential but are not commonly used anymore, such as clothing repair materials, services related to clothing and footwear, knitting, basic cable television and land-line telephone services.” They will now have PST added.

Well, guess who uses just about all those services still. Our seniors. So thank you very much for doing that. I would suggest that those are essential.

There are also stealth taxes, when we look at some of the other pension adjustments that are pushing seniors to the brink. They also talk about credits, but again, that only applies to a very small percentage of our population.

The other thing they need predictability in is health care and accessibility to that health care. They also need help in more medicines being available in medicare. How many people here in this room know of people that have ended up, as they age, getting into a health care situation and now having to pay five, six…? It’s $1,000 a month on prescriptions that aren’t covered. That has to change.

We have to make sure that it is affordable for our seniors to be able to stay in their homes as long as they can and not have to be going to the hospitals because there’s nowhere else to turn.

Let’s talk about working families, if we can, for a bit.

Deputy Speaker: Member for Kamloops–North Thompson, apologies for the interruption, but I believe the member for Richmond Centre may have a question.

Hon Chan: I would like to seek leave for an introduction.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

Hon Chan: I would like to take this moment to warmly welcome a group of students from Richmond Secondary School, from the riding of Richmond Centre, sitting up there in the chamber.

Welcome to the chamber of the Legislative Assembly today. Today we are primarily debating Budget 2026, which was introduced by the government last week.

As the official opposition, it is our role to carefully examine the budget, to discuss what we agree with and what we disagree with and to ensure accountability on behalf of the people of British Columbia.

I understand there are three groups of students visiting today, and I will try my best to greet all of them today.

Welcome to your Legislative Assembly.

Deputy Speaker: Indeed, welcome. Welcome to everyone in our chamber today.

Debate Continued

Ward Stamer: Great to see our school kids here, seeing democracy in action. Appreciate that very much.

We were talking about families and some of the significant challenges that we have with working families. I mean, mortgage renewals now are coming back, coming up for significant interest renewals. Grocery bills rising. Child care expenses rising. Transportation costs rising. Insurance premiums rising. As I mentioned earlier, many housing insurance premiums have doubled in just a few years.

Again, our wage growth hasn’t been outpacing inflation. Is there anybody in this room or anybody out there in TV land who honestly believes that our inflation rate is 3 percent? I don’t. I don’t think any of my colleagues do. That’s the challenge. There’s no way, if we don’t get a rein on some of these costs, that we’re going to be able to afford it not only for ourselves but for our families and for our seniors.

Let’s talk a little bit, when we talk about Budget 2026, about the forest industry, near and dear to my heart. Forestry remains one of British Columbia’s foundational industries. It’s a pillar that built this province. Entire communities depend upon it. Interior towns, northern communities, Vancouver Island regions, the Kootenays, the Lower Mainland, with manufacturing facilities in Surrey and Maple Ridge, just to name a few — everywhere in B.C. is touched by forestry.

What was mentioned by my colleague from Skeena just a little while ago…. That was one word that was not mentioned in Budget 2026: forestry. That’s a shame, an incredible shame. It’s not an oversight. It’s on purpose. This government has driven forestry into the ground. Into the ground.

We can talk a little bit about some of the initiatives that this government has brought forth to try to resurrect the forest industry, but I would suggest that it’s just mere pennies on the dollar.

[1:50 p.m.]

Forest jobs are often family-supporting jobs. They sustain local businesses, schools, volunteer organizations. In many cases, in smaller communities, they are a major tax base, taxpayer in those communities.

As an example, the Crofton pulp mill that just went down after being in business for almost 70 years. Imagine all the ups and downs that pulp mill has gone through in 70 years. Finally, under this government’s watch, it had to close its doors. That’s a $5 million municipal tax hit to North Cowichan this year, next year and every other year that that pulp mill remains shuttered. What do you think the implications are going to be for the taxpayers in that region? I would suggest it’s going to be significant.

When we talk about our forest industry, I’m not the only one that has been trying to push back hard. Everyone in the industry has been saying, loud and clear, that we need certainty in this industry. This government is basically relinquishing their responsibilities. We’ve got a multitude of issues in our forest industry right now and the cost structure that is associated with it.

We hear from the other side that the trade dispute and the ongoing issues in the world have a bearing on that. Of course they do, but we’ve always had tariffs with the Americans, and we probably always will. I understand the Premier wants to take the Americans to court again, as I heard the other day. Well, we’ve never been successful in the past. What makes him think that we’re going to be successful in the future?

We have to make sure that we are cost-competitive in this industry in this province and be responsible for what we can do, not what other people can do. Unfortunately, that’s what’s not happening.

You know, we have jurisdictions where we had offices around the world for international trade. Finally, the lightbulb has gone off, and in the last six months to a year, the Forests Minister and this government have decided to open a couple of our foreign offices that used to be open. That’s great. I congratulate them for doing it, but it’s certainly taken them a long time to realize that we shouldn’t be just putting all our eggs in one basket.

When we talk about our costing structure, even permitting, which used to be $3 or $4 a cubic metre, has now tripled in just a few years. Just that alone can make us uncompetitive. That comes because of all the extra consultation processes that are involved, all the back-and-forth and the realization that most permitting isn’t even approved by the district managers anymore. It’s being approved by First Nations in consultation with the licensees, not the other way around. Those are bringing significant challenges to our industry right now.

Many international processors and producers have diversified their markets, and we’re just starting to see that, particularly in our value-added sector. When regulatory complexity increases, capital investment slows. I would suggest that most of the capital investment has stopped. That’s why we’re having difficulties in this province right now, across the board, on all our natural resources. It’s because of the uncertainty in this province.

When companies cannot predict the fibre access or tenure stability, they will hesitate to modernize. Now, I heard a member talking earlier about the $400 million investment fund that is going to be used — we call it a slush fund — basically to try to maximize dollars with the federal dollars. But that’s not necessarily so, and it isn’t specifically identified for the forest industry or any other industry. It just allows, as they said, the ability for the government to have flexibility in the budget.

Well, then, why did they have to put an extra $1 billion into a contingency fund? That $1 billion is a significant amount of money, which does not require any oversight in this House. On this side of the House, we don’t believe in that. We believe in accountability and transparency, not just adding more money to a slush fund.

When we become uncompetitive in our forest industry, these are some of the results that we’ve had. You might have heard these numbers before, but I’ll tell them again.

We’ve lost over 15,000 full-time jobs in our forest industry in the last four years. Our harvesting levels have been reduced by 50 percent in that same time. This is an industry that should be sustainable, with a renewable resource, and we’re only doing half of what we did four years ago.

Now, many will say: “Well, that was partly responsible — a pine uplift and bugs.” That was part of it, but that just goes to show you how badly this government has managed our forests, now that we’re only doing half of what we did four years ago.

[1:55 p.m.]

That was the same government four years ago that promised 30,000 new jobs. So I’m not going to try to pretend with the numbers and say we’ve lost 45,000. We’ve lost 15,000 full-time jobs.

You multiply that by a minimum of three to five across the board because of the structure of those jobs, and we’ve lost anywhere between 45,000 and 60,000 jobs. Those are real numbers, not just made-up numbers.

When we talk about forestry, when we talk about some of the responsibilities in that, I think we can all agree that one of the programs that has been very successful, and we will give the government some credit on that, is FireSmart. FireSmart was developed with our municipalities to try to look at reducing fire risk and fuel reduction in our interface, particularly in our areas surrounding our towns and cities.

It’s been a fairly successful operation, I would suggest — I believe, $178 million since 2018. But again we have structural challenges. Just two weeks ago UBCM announced that the intake was going to be abruptly cancelled for this year because the fund has basically run out of money.

In this budget, they’ve allotted $25 million to try to get it up to where they think it should be for this year. But unfortunately, there are no other moneys identified for FireSmart in the subsequent years in this three-year budget.

My question to the Finance Minister is: why not? They’re talking about restructuring. They’re talking about doing different things. We have municipalities throughout B.C. wondering how they’re going to be able to continue with these home-saving municipal saving programs to reduce fire risk in their communities without adequate funding from this government.

I would suggest that that is money well spent, and the Finance Minister should have found a way to make sure that those programs continue.

The other thing I’d like to leave with forestry, too, just to explain a couple of things…. When we talk about value-added, we all agree that we should be getting more value out of every cubic metre in this province, out of a tree. Unfortunately, that’s not happening. We need to be able to restructure our forest system so that we can incentivize companies to be able to get the most out of the fibre.

No, we don’t need the government to start hiring loggers to try to bring wood to a sort yard and then try to figure out how to sell that wood to somebody. That’s never going to work.

We have the potential to lead in engineered wood products. We have success stories all over the province in being state of the art in engineering structural beams and structural building, mass timber, advanced manufacturing. We’ve also got opportunities in bioenergy, yet this government doesn’t believe in bioenergy.

This government had to be forced to continue to have the operation in Williams Lake still running to be able to supply electricity to the grid because it’s “dirty fuel, dirty energy.” This side of the government doesn’t agree with that. And when we’re government, we’re going to change that.

Value-added also requires confidence. If companies fear unstable fibre supply or unpredictable policy shifts, where we’ve seen shifting all over the place, then we’re not going to have the investment necessary for us to move this province forward.

One of the other things that I’d like to talk about is some of the money that we have seen going to forestry in this budget. Even though it wasn’t mentioned in the budget, yes, they did identify $15 million. They tried to wrap it around a $50 million joint fund with the feds, which they love to do, trying to get somebody else’s money in and claiming credit for it, under the auspices of: “We’re working together.”

[2:00 p.m.]

Those three segments of the $15 million…. I just wanted to share with everybody, to give you an idea, when I talk about pennies on the dollar, that $5 million is to go to our First Nations Forestry Council, and $5 million is going to go to our compensation fund. That is going to be compensating contractors so that where a tenure goes broke, $5 million is going to be set aside to pay the bills. Well, I’m going to suggest that $5 million is not going to be able to cover the costs of any of those costs.

The third one was the Wildfire Reduction Equipment Support Trust. Again, that is totally underfunded as well.

Of all the moneys that are going to be going into the forest industry, those are the only three targets that have been identified in that $50 million. That’s it.

I also wanted to talk a little bit about some of the capital plan projects that have been delayed. This is a government that doesn’t like saying “delayed.” In their futures budget, they talk about delivering beds more efficiently, long-term beds. But they’re going to adjust the timing of the delivery of those because they’ve now determined, and it’s because of their policies, that they can no longer afford $1.8 million per bed.

These are the facilities that may be affected on the timing of delivery, with no end dates: Abbotsford, Campbell River, Chilliwack, Kelowna, Delta, Fort St. John, Squamish.

They also say “re-paced.” Again, they don’t like using the word “delayed.” Now they’ve got a new word. It’s called “re-paced” or “TBC.” They haven’t even told us what that is. It could be continued, cancelled — whatever.

One of them that is significant, particularly in the Lower Mainland, is the phase 2 project at the Burnaby Hospital. Now, we’ve heard all kinds of excuses and explanations of why, but unfortunately, that is a major build that is not happening in a timely fashion.

Yes, I will thank the government for finally — after almost, I think, 30 years since it started between subsequent governments — getting a cancer clinic in Kamloops. I want to thank the government for at least starting our cancer clinic in Kamloops.

Again, as the member for Kamloops Centre and myself have said, they should be to the same standard as what’s being built in Nanaimo and in Surrey, and it’s not happening. We want to make sure that we’re on the same level playing field as all our municipalities of similar size. We should be making sure that that cancer clinic is built properly.

Interjection.

Ward Stamer: Thanks for the enthusiasm.

Some of the things…. Where the interconnection and disconnection come from in this budget is that these issues aren’t isolated. Again, when forest jobs disappear and our resource jobs disappear, our families are impacted the most. Our health care benefits are affected. Communities shrink.

I mean, I just went through 100 Mile a couple of weeks ago. I know how devastating it is for that community to lose the last mill that they’ve had in that region for so many years and how hard it is for everybody living there.

Yes, we will do everything we can. The member will do everything that he can to be able to help turn things around. But that is a significant economic driver in that region. Again, when that mill went down, a pellet plant in Williams Lake went down. We’re all interconnected in this province with forestry.

Then when we talk about health care, yes, the government is trying to make improvements in health care. We have seen more doctors added to the health care opportunities. Yes, slowly people are getting access to doctors, but, I think, we’re still at almost less than one million people that don’t have a family doctor.

Even if you have a family doctor and you have a child that has a fever tonight, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re not going to be able to go see your doctor. You’re going to have to go to an emergency room and could wait for six or eight or ten hours just to get a prescription for something to bring that fever down. Those are the kinds of challenges that we have in this province.

We need more walk-in clinics, and we’re not seeing those results, specifically on the investments that this government is saying that they’re making. We’ve got seniors that are on longer wait-lists for everything from knee replacements to hip replacements.

[2:05 p.m.]

Again, when we talk about debt, if we start looking at what’s going to happen in the next two or three years and we start approaching in the neighbourhood of 8 to 9 to 10 percent of our overall budget being used for interest payments, that is going to diminish the ability of us to be able to continue with the service levels that we are enjoying today. That’s the realization of what happens when you start growing the debt exponentially, and that’s exactly where we are right now.

The other side will talk about growing the economy. That was one of our election campaigns, and we had ways and had policy to show exactly how that would occur. Now they’re just trying to pick up the ball and say: “Yeah, we’re going to try to do that too.”

Well, if any indication of how they’re going to be able to do it was last Friday at the board of trade, there was a resounding no from the business community. “We don’t believe you. We don’t trust you. We’re not going to do that. We’re not going to follow your policies.”

Opposing this budget is not opposing the comparisons between what we would do and what they would do. Now, we hear lots of chirping from the other side about, “Oh, you guys would do this, and you guys would do that,” without really looking strongly at our policy.

During the last election, one of the falsehoods that was put forth was that we were going to cut $3 billion in health care. That was a complete fallacy. It was…. There’s another word for an exaggeration, but I’m not allowed to use it here. And that’s exactly what it was. When we asked the media, “Why don’t you ask the Premier where he’s getting this $3 billion from? Quantify it. Explain where they’re going to cut,” he didn’t have an answer. So the media just walked away.

That’s unfortunate, because we were going to expand health care. We were going to change the way health care is delivered in this province, and we’d be utilizing equipment that isn’t even being used 100 percent of the time right now. Because of the system that’s in place, we can’t use it. Those are some of the structural changes that this side would do when we are government.

When we have a fiscal budget that’s done responsibly, it has measurable outcomes. This budget does not. We should have health care outcomes. We should have rural economic stabilization. We should have stabilization across the board. How much money was, in this budget, identified to all those municipalities that are trying to balance their budget and all the pressures that they’re receiving right now in water and sewer and schools and roads and hospitals? We’re only seeing a fraction of that, and we haven’t seen any new money in this year’s budget — none whatsoever.

Budget 2026 expands spending without adequately restoring affordability. It increases debt without a clear path to balance. The minister is famous in saying: “Well, we’re going to balance the budget someday.” Well, when is that someday? I don’t know if I’ll live long enough, if this government stays in power, for that ever to happen.

It fails to deliver transformative health care reform despite record spending — another $1 billion a year this year in health care alone. It neglects a comprehensive forest recovery strategy. For seniors that are struggling between groceries and heat, many of them are now looking at food banks. I’m almost ashamed to say that. After working so hard, they’ve had the result of that.

It’s disappointing for our forest workers, with the mill closures and the curtailments — knowing there are some structural changes that the Forests Minister and this government could do, but they’re unwilling to do it — and for so many families that are stretched thin, families that are trying to work within their means, working extra shifts, trying to balance child care, trying to balance everything under the sun and still having a tough time at the end of the month. In the old saying, there’s lots of month at the end of the money.

British Columbians deserve better, and until we, I, can see a plan that restores affordability, revitalizes our natural resources, including forestry, improves health care access and exercises some kind of fiscal responsibility, I will continue to stand in opposition to this budget.

[2:10 p.m.]

Hon. Rick Glumac: I’m honoured today to stand in this House and speak about the budget. The budget is about choices. We’re making choices that are responsible, modest revenue measures, disciplined spending and aggressive economic growth.

The context of the situation that we’re in right now is that we are not the only province in Canada that is facing a budget deficit. Nearly every other province in Canada is running or projecting a budget deficit this year, Ontario being the largest with a deficit of $14.6 billion. Prince Edward Island has the largest in terms of percentage of GDP with 3.2 percent. B.C. is less than those, and we are making choices to bring ourselves to a balanced budget in a time frame that is responsible.

The question becomes: how do you do that? I’ve heard a lot of criticisms coming from the other side. But one thing I haven’t heard from the other side yet, and I’ve been listening to speeches, is solutions. What would they do?

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members, the minister of state has the floor, and I’d appreciate hearing his debate.

Hon. Rick Glumac: The reason why I think we’re not hearing solutions is because I don’t think they want the public to know what they would do if they were government in this fiscal situation. Quite frankly, I think it would be devastating to our province, so they don’t really want to talk about it.

One thing that we can all agree on is that we do want to lower the deficit and get to a balanced budget. How do we do that, and how quickly do we do that? We basically have two ways of doing it. We can either increase revenue, or we can reduce spending.

When we’re talking about increasing revenue, you could take a very aggressive approach on that. There are jurisdictions in North America, like in New York, where the mayor there ran on a campaign of increasing revenue on the most wealthy people in New York and was elected on that campaign.

That is not what we’re doing in this budget. We’re taking a very modest approach. I’ll just outline what some of those measures are. I’ll highlight the two biggest revenue increases in our budget and talk about that a little bit.

The first is a small 0.54 percent increase in our income tax, which is offset by a tax credit so that increase falls mostly on the most wealthy British Columbians. This tax measure generates the province approximately $353 million after the tax credits are taken into account.

The second measure is expanding the PST to certain professional services. Why are we taking this measure? It’s because it aligns with nearly every other province in Canada in terms of what is taxed by their provincial sales tax as well. This generates approximately $261 million this fiscal year. In total, in this budget, in this first year, the taxation measures add up to a very modest $757 million.

Now, I’ve received feedback on this. I have friends across the political spectrum. I had one friend text me, and he said: “We need to attract wealth, not tax it out of the province.” I asked him: “Do you know how much tax we’re talking about here, per individual, on this income tax increase?” He didn’t. He’d heard talking points, but he didn’t know.

So I told him this is an average of approximately $76 per year, and $76 is not driving investment out of this province. But strong schools, modern infrastructure, a growing tech sector — those will bring investment into this province, and that’s why we’re prioritizing those things in this budget.

[2:15 p.m.]

The second item is reducing spending. Conservative governments, right-wing governments, are famous for going to the absolute extreme end on this in terms of spending cuts. You only need to look at the last time we had a right-wing government in British Columbia.

When they needed to balance the budget, what did they do? We can look, and we can see what they did.

They cut $360 million from health care budgets in 2009 when they needed to balance the budget — cancelling MRIs, cancelling surgeries — causing a deep trough in which we are still digging ourselves out in terms of health care funding.

They cut wages, and they fired 10,000 health care workers. They refused to expand aging hospitals and, instead, sold off land for hospitals.

They froze capital school budgets for eight years and closed 267 schools. So 267 schools were closed — 267 — and not only that. They sold off….

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members, the minister of state still has the floor, and I appreciate hearing his debate.

Hon. Rick Glumac: They sold off school lands. I mean, we have students up here today who should be aware of what these previous governments did. They sold off school lands, and the value of those lands appreciated so much that we could never buy them back.

In case any of the members opposite use the excuse, “Well, that was the B.C. Liberals; that’s not us,” that they’re different somehow…. Well, the current MLA for Fraser-Nicola said, just a few days ago, that if education and health care are the two biggest line items in the budget, they’re the ones that are going to have to take the brunt of this somehow.

I wonder how. We should all be very concerned about how the B.C. Liberals would balance a budget.

Interjection.

Hon. Rick Glumac: Well, sorry. The B.C. Conservatives. I get them mixed up so much. It’s hard to distinguish.

The quote that I just quoted…. As far as I can tell, that’s the only time any member of the opposition let it slip how they would deal with the budget. They’re being very quiet about it otherwise. They’re not saying very much. They’re very quiet. Very quiet. I hear complaints. I don’t hear any solutions.

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members.

Members, the minister of state has the floor.

Hon. Rick Glumac: Well, once again, what we’re talking about is a very modest approach. Across government….

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members.

Members, I would appreciate hearing the minister of state’s comments. Please.

Interjections.

[The Deputy Speaker rose.]

Deputy Speaker: Members, I would prefer not to ask again. I would like to hear the comments by the minister of state. Please, can we hear them.

[The Deputy Speaker resumed his seat.]

Hon. Rick Glumac: Across government, we are streamlining operations so that we can utilize tax dollars to actually protect core public services like health and education, exactly the things that they would cut.

I want to share some examples of how we are streamlining government operations, just a few examples, because I think it’s pretty exciting.

[2:20 p.m.]

We are launching Connected Services B.C. This is a new, centralized, user-focused organization in government. The goal is that, by 2030, there will be one place where people can go to interact with the government online for anything that you need help with. This will reduce delays and duplication.

When you interact with this, you only need to enter your information once, and data will be shared securely across government. You’ll be able to find and get access to government services in a more straightforward and easy way than ever before, and you’ll benefit from the latest innovations designed around the needs of British Columbians.

Through the B.C. Public Service HR integration, we’re moving HR functions that used to be within different ministries to an integrated HR function in the B.C. Public Service Agency. This reduces duplication, drives efficiency and delivers a consistent, high-quality workforce across ministries.

We’re also doing a health authority review to improve efficiency and increase resources dedicated to patient care. Non-clinical services will be centralized to streamline administrative costs, which include legal, supply chain, finance, human resources, information management and information technology, data and analytics, health system planning and digital communication services across the health care system.

This, of course, opens up the opportunity to bring more innovation into the health care system in a way that we’ve never been able to do before, where a good technology that’s used in one hospital in a pilot project could maybe propagate throughout the health care system more easily. Maybe we can even get rid of fax machines one day.

Through the post-secondary system review, we’re also going to examine all aspects of institutional operations and administration, as well as the structure and governance of the whole sector.

In many of these examples, by streamlining administration through the use of technology, it also gives us the opportunity to bring in, as I mentioned, the latest innovation. Some of this innovation is created by some amazing companies right here in British Columbia.

The Ministry of Citizens’ Services is looking at ways of streamlining procurement to more easily bring that innovation into government. This is a very important point. Making government services better can also help support our own companies here in British Columbia, which helps support our provincial economy.

Through our Look West strategy, we have a clear set of goals, one of which is to attract $200 billion in private sector investment in the next ten years. What that means is good-paying jobs and stronger, more resilient growth for decades to come. We’re building on B.C.’s strengths: our clean energy advantage, our global transportation corridors, our highly educated workforce and our strength in technology and innovation.

We’ve identified key sectors for growth within this economic plan: marine industries, life sciences, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, aerospace, construction innovation, trade and logistics infrastructure, agriculture, food processing and tourism. We’ve set a ten-year goal to double the tech sector employment in British Columbia to 400,000 jobs and increase the GDP of that sector by 75 percent.

We’re aligning our work with federal investments to maximize those opportunities for businesses in B.C. Over $11 million in federal funding has already supported B.C.-based quantum initiatives within the last couple of years, including 1QBit, SFU’s Quantum Fabrication Centre and UBC’s Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute. The Digital Research Alliance of Canada has invested nearly $41 million in the Fir supercomputer at SFU, now the fastest supercomputer in the country. Coquitlam-based Photonic has been selected for phase 1 of the Canadian quantum champions program, with the potential to receive up to $23 million in funding.

These investments are important. They help retain talent, they strengthen our national security, and they ensure that emerging technologies reflect Canadian values.

[2:25 p.m.]

Through our budget, we’re taking actions to leverage these federal investments. We’re allocating $400 million to establish a new B.C. strategic investment fund, allowing the province to partner directly in projects of provincial interest when participation makes economic sense. We’re continuing to deploy the $500 million in our InBC investment fund, supporting early-stage and growth-stage companies and anchoring them here in British Columbia.

We’ve strengthened, already, our small business venture capital tax credit by increasing that annual credit, the maximum amount, from $120,000 up to $300,000 and raising the program’s annual cap from $38½ million to $53½ million. We’re removing the sunset clause from the provincial SR&ED tax credit to provide long-term certainty. And we’re increasing the refundable expenditure limit from $3 million to $6 million while raising taxable capital thresholds to encourage greater research-and-development investment.

These are structural changes designed to make British Columbia more competitive, not just today but well into the future. But competitiveness is not just about investments; it’s about protecting ideas as well. That’s why, back in 2023, we launched British Columbia’s intellectual property strategy. It helps B.C. innovators protect their ideas, grow their businesses and remain competitive globally.

In this budget, we’re also beginning consultation on a patent box regime in B.C., which could potentially provide a tax incentive on income derived from qualifying intellectual property, lowering taxes on profits from R and D developed and patented here in British Columbia. When B.C. businesses develop world-class technology, the value of that technology is most important when it stays here in British Columbia.

I want to also mention integrated marketplace. I’ve had a lot of opportunities to talk to companies that have worked with integrated marketplace, and it has been a really huge success here in British Columbia. Through integrated marketplace, companies get to test out their technology and bring it to commercialization in places like the airport, the Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority, the Prince Rupert Port Authority, health care and forestry.

One example I can give you. I went on a tour recently to the airport, YVR, and I had a chance to visit with a company called A&K Robotics. They have created autonomous robots that can help people with mobility challenges navigate their way through the airport. They worked closely with integrated marketplace to test and commercialize their technology in the real-world environment of the airport, and it was a huge success. They’ve since received interest from airports all around the world.

There are many examples like this where we’re helping companies grow and find new customers, not only here in B.C. but all around the world. Companies like MarineLabs are deploying AI-driven marine weather systems at our ports. Companies like Open Ocean Robotics are testing zero-emission autonomous vehicles on the ocean. Digital pathology tools are being expanded to improve diagnostic access for patients across the province as well.

The integrated marketplace includes as much as $41½ million from the province and $11.7 million from the federal government, helping de-risk technology adoption while accelerating commercialization. This is what modern economic development looks like.

Modern economic development also means helping our companies compete globally. Through our trade diversification strategy and programs like trade accelerator and export navigator, we’re helping local companies and start-ups prepare to access new markets globally.

[2:30 p.m.]

We’re making sure that when B.C. companies scale, they scale outward but not away from British Columbia. Initiatives like Web Summit Vancouver shine a global spotlight on our technology ecosystem here in B.C., connecting B.C. entrepreneurs and investors and partners from around the world. Our next Web Summit will take place May 11 to 14 of this year, and it’s another opportunity to show the world what British Columbia has to offer.

As our tech sector grows, we’re making sure our B.C. talent grows with it. That’s why this budget invests $283 million over three years to expand access to family-supporting jobs — $241 million to double skilled-trades funding; $12 million to expand apprenticeship opportunities; and $30 million to train highly qualified professionals in engineering, geology, computer science, biology and aerospace. We’re also providing $50 million to Mitacs to support 10,000 internships in priority sectors, including clean technology and life sciences.

All of these investments…. I’m happy to go through them. There’s a lot there. They all point in one direction, to a stronger economy for British Columbia — an economy that attracts capital; that grows companies here at home; that turns research into real jobs; and that ensures British Columbians benefit from the industries of the future, from AI to quantum computing, to clean energy, to advanced manufacturing, to life sciences.

We are positioning British Columbia to lead, to give businesses the confidence to invest, to give workers the skills to succeed and to give our province the resilience to compete in a changing world. This is what these investments do. Look West sets that direction. The budget delivers the next steps.

But going back to what I was saying earlier, when the opposition talks about taking the brunt of cuts out of health care and education…. That’s not the right way to go. It means fewer nurses. It means fewer teachers. It means longer wait times. It means closed classrooms and cancelled procedures.

We have seen that before with another right-wing government that many people running for leadership were part of, for the B.C. Conservatives. When they faced a deficit, what did they do? They cut $360 million from health care. They laid off 10,000 health care workers. They closed 267 schools. They sold off public land that we’ll never get back. That’s the record.

Now they want British Columbians to believe that somehow things will be different because they changed their name. But you’ll notice they aren’t talking about how they’ve changed. They’re not saying what they would do differently than the B.C. Liberals.

Deputy Speaker: Member, I’m not certain what the name of another party has to do with the budget here today. If we could get back to the budget, it would be helpful.

Hon. Rick Glumac: How we make choices in this budget, Mr. Speaker, is very important. It is important, when we hear a lot of things being said about the choices that we are making, to also talk about how those choices could be different if another government was in this place.

We’re protecting core services in this budget. We’re focused on opportunity. We’re modernizing government. We’re building an economy that attracts investment. We’re creating jobs of the future. We’re doing it without sacrificing the important services like health care and education that British Columbians rely on.

That’s responsible leadership. That’s how you manage a deficit without shrinking your future, and that’s exactly what we will deliver for British Columbia.

[2:35 p.m.]

Bryan Tepper: I would start by saying that I do have some suggestions on what we could do further on in this, to answer the previous one, but he’ll have to wait. In the meantime, maybe a quick example would be: “Just throw out the budget and start again.”

Anyway, this NDP government tabled a budget that isn’t just a fiscal failure; it’s a declaration of war on the people of Surrey-Panorama. While my constituents hide from extortion threats, while our police force is stretched to a breaking point, while seniors watch their life savings get eaten away by government greed, this government handed us a document of broken promises, reckless debt and deliberate neglect.

Let’s cut through the spin. Every line in this budget is a reminder that this government has no guardrails, no plan and no respect for the people who elected them. A former NDP Finance Minister, someone who knows this government’s inner workings, put it best: “There were no guardrails. This is a pickle of their own making.” In Surrey, we’re the ones stuck in that pickle.

The government talks about GDP growth, but they don’t seem to understand or want to put in GDP per capita. GDP goes up if we let in somebody with $100 in their pocket, but it also drags down the GDP per capita and burdens all of our overstretched services.

Let’s start with the numbers this government buried in the back of their budget. A $13.3 billion deficit this year, more than twice the deficit during the height of COVID. Provincial debt set to climb from $154 billion to $235 billion in just three years, nearly doubling as a share of our economy since this NDP leadership took over.

Fifteen thousand public sector jobs cut over three years, with zero details on who will lose their jobs or how critical services will survive. This isn’t austerity; it’s incompetence. The former NDP Finance Minister said that, under her, she fought for balanced budgets, for guardrails, for caution. We all know what happened to her.

This government threw those guardrails out the window. They spent like there was no tomorrow. Now tomorrow is here, and we’re all paying for it. You know, there’s a phrase: “spending like a drunken sailor.” When the head sailor starts saying, “Maybe we should look at what we’re spending,” we’re all in trouble, especially if they keep running up that debt.

Let’s talk taxes. This government claims B.C. is the lowest-taxed province for low- and middle-income families. However, they’re raising the universal income tax for the first time since 2008. They are freezing tax brackets, which means every time your salary goes up, you pay more in taxes.

Starting October 1, they’re adding PST to basic land-line service, cable TV and even yarn for seniors who knit to stay connected. All of this means we are definitely not the lowest-taxed province.

Let’s not forget the job numbers they’re touting — 36,000 jobs created in 2025. But how many of those are private sector? How many are just temporary public sector positions to pad their stats? They won’t say because they know the truth. Their spending spree hasn’t built a sustainable economy. It has built a house of cards, and it’s about to collapse.

I looked at a report from Stats Canada. Whether it’s the truth about what they’re hiding…. Last year British Columbia’s private sector appears to have bled 8,000 jobs. The lifeblood of our economy is shrinking. Every single one of those new jobs, and thousands more, were on the government payroll.

I actually went further into that. It looks like, since this leadership of government took over, the unemployment rate went from 4.2 percent to 6.6 percent. Youth unemployment, far worse. Men 15 to 24, unemployment increased from 8.9 to 12.7.

[2:40 p.m.]

If you think that’s bad, women 15 to 24, unemployment increased from 6.3 to 14.9 percent. It says self-employed individuals saw a decrease of 6.6 percent of their jobs. That’s 31,000 jobs.

The lifeblood of our economy is shrinking. Every single one of those new jobs and thousands more were on the government’s payroll. They’re borrowing billions to hire bureaucrats, public sector workers, while the real job creators — the small businesses, the tech firms, the builders — are laying people off. This isn’t a jobs plan. It’s a bailout of their own failing reputation using the public credit card. They haven’t built an economy; they’ve built a government payroll. When the borrowing stops, the NDP layoffs will begin.

If there’s one group that the budget targets with special cruelty, it’s our seniors, as I said earlier, with increases to cable, land-line telephones and even yarn. For decades, seniors could defer their property taxes to stay in their homes — their largest investment, their legacy for their kids and grandkids — but this government just changed the rules.

Starting in 2026, interest on deferred property taxes will jump from prime minus 2 to prime plus 2 and now compounded monthly. That’s a 4 percent hike in interest rates. Just a few years ago it was 1.7 percent. That today would be 5.7 percent, but with the current prime rate, it’s now 6.45 percent that they pay, again, compounded monthly. A retired investment adviser said: “This isn’t a deferral. It’s a loan shark’s deal.” I kind of wish I came up with that one myself, but….

Seniors will lose their equity faster than they can blink, and what do they get in return? The government paused work on at least seven new long-term-care homes. The B.C. seniors advocate says we’re already 2,000 beds short. By 2036, that gap will be 16,000. This government is making it more difficult for seniors to stay in their homes while also driving them to no other option.

The former NDP Finance Minister also said the perception was that the NDP couldn’t manage a popsicle stand. This government has brought that perception back with a vengeance. For our seniors, it’s worse than that. It’s a direct attack on their dignity, their savings and their right to age with respect.

Let’s talk about health care. So 1.4 million British Columbians don’t have a family doctor, and this government claims 4,200 people a week are getting new doctors. Sounds great, but they don’t mention how many are losing their doctors to retirement and burnout. It’s a shell game, and patients are the losers. Doing some quick math, if it’s correct, that’s 6½ years to get those people a doctor, although I highly suspect the retiring doctors and those leaving for more favourable work will take away from that 4,200.

What I find most intriguing about this government is that they can cut, cut and keep cutting. Then they stand up in this very room and say that they are working, continuing to work on health care. “Not like those guys on the other side,” as we just heard, “who are going to cut funding.” They did this in the last election, knocking on doors telling people that we’re going to cut funding despite the budget platform showing a huge increase in spending.

As for addiction care, even worse. Last year this government managed to open just 28 functioning addiction treatment beds. They claim 123 more are coming, but they’ve no plan, no timeline, no accountability. Our communities are drowning in addiction. This is part of the reason people don’t feel safe. They go out of their homes, and they find people on the streets, living homeless, becoming drug addicts.

[2:45 p.m.]

It’s time that we need to start fixing things, and this government is handing out band-aids. We just saw that there’s extra funding for nasal naloxone, which is great, but we have no more funding for treatment and addiction. I think it’s far cheaper to keep people out of addiction, away from homelessness, than putting the band-aid on.

And autism funding? They’re cutting that. While kids with autism need more support, this government is taking it away. This is cruelty.

Let’s not forget the $10-a-day daycare promise that they made ten years ago. It’s still not here. Instead, they’re now touting an affordable child care benefit that doesn’t come close to covering the cost of care for families.

What about housing? This government says they’re reversing damage to the overheated market. But they’re using a bulldozer, not a repair kit. They’re driving up costs for renters and homeowners alike while failing to build enough affordable homes to make a difference.

I can’t stand to hear people say that the NDP care about people. This is a budget completely devoid of empathy. They take away from people that produce and people who genuinely need support and then enable those who make harmful choices in the belief that those people have no choice.

Let’s get to the crisis that keeps my constituents up at night: public safety in Surrey. I remember back when the police transition was being proposed. It was supposed to be two years. I remember looking at the situation without the benefit of inside documents and overall figures, but I said: “What they’re proposing looks like a 14-year transition plan.” Although I don’t think it was a plan. Well, it looks like I was closer than this government and the Solicitor General at the time.

When Surrey voted for a new mayor and council, largely based on keeping the RCMP, what did this government do? They changed the laws and then forced the change on the people of Surrey and the municipal government. There was no plan, no forethought, just an ideological urgency from this government.

Now the people of Surrey suffer under an extortion crisis that this government is doing nothing about. Last week the Surrey police service chief released a statement that should shock every British Columbian. This government is forcing the SPS to take over policing in Cloverdale on April 1, four months earlier than planned, even though the force says they don’t have the officers to do it. The SPS says they need 70 officers to police Cloverdale. But right now 40 of their officers are redeployed to fight the extortion crisis that this government has ignored for years.

Deputy Speaker: Member, I hate to interrupt, but I think we have someone about to seek leave.

Hon Chan: I would like to seek leave for an introduction.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

Hon Chan: I would like to warmly welcome the third group and the last group of students from Richmond Secondary School, from my riding of Richmond Centre, to the Legislative Assembly today. It is great to see the young people here learning about how our democracy works.

Today we are debating Budget 2026, which the government introduced last week. Our job as the opposition is to review it very carefully, to talk about what we agree with and what we disagree with and to represent the voices of people across British Columbia and the voices of you.

Last but not least, go Colts.

May the House make them feel very welcome.

Deputy Speaker: Welcome to everyone in our chamber today.

Recognizing the member for Surrey-Panorama. Apologies for the interruption.

Debate Continued

Bryan Tepper: No problem, Mr. Chair.

All right. I was speaking about the SPS needing 70 police officers to police Cloverdale and 40 of the police officers that the SPS does have fighting the extortion crisis in Surrey. This government is forcing them to pull those officers off of extortion investigations and put them on patrol, leaving our small businesses vulnerable to gang threats and our streets less safe.

[2:50 p.m.]

To add insult to injury, this government won’t let Surrey or Vancouver start their own police academies to fix the officer shortage. They’re forcing a rushed transition then refusing to give the force the tools they need to succeed.

As for the extortion crisis, this government created an advisory group to address it. It looks like almost every member has strong ties to the NDP. These are the same people who slept through the crisis for years. It’s a joke. My constituents aren’t laughing.

A provincewide survey released last week found that 90 percent of British Columbians believe crimes are going unreported, and 71 percent say they lack confidence in the justice system. Prolific criminals are arrested and released immediately, only to commit more crimes.

Now this government is cutting the corrections budget, meaning even fewer people will be put in jail to protect our communities. This government is cutting public safety funding by $4 million this year. Who will be the next short-staffed? Which community will be left unprotected?

The numbers for police responsible to be paid for by this government have not changed in years, and it does not change again this year. There was a promised increase for the RCMP to police our small communities. They have not been seen.

About people being arrested and released, I know it used to happen in the past, as well, when I was policing. However, it is now the norm, and people want to see accountability in our courts.

Let’s talk transportation. Those of us living south of the Fraser seem to be a forgotten second class, but this government does seem to love separating people into different classes.

The replacement for the George Massey Tunnel has been one of the biggest failures of this NDP government. There was a great replacement. It was a bridge, not only approved but underway, yet this government cancelled it, wasting hundreds of millions of dollars just to stick it to their political opponents. I’d love to hear the transport minister explain any other reason behind this decision, because he hasn’t given one that passes muster so far.

Then they spent $87.5 million on the Steveston interchange, double the initial cost estimate. Guess what. If this government showed a little common sense and went back to the bridge plan, that interchange would have to be removed. More government waste, but I suppose that would be a drop in the bucket, since the cost of the bridge is still predicted to be almost half the cost of this mythical new tunnel. Either way, I say: please, get on with something, anything.

People sitting, idling, south of the Fraser, spewing exhaust in the morning, heading in for their jobs. In the evening, stuck in traffic again, trying to head home. But perhaps that’s what this budget is trying to accomplish. If people don’t have jobs to go to downtown, we don’t have to worry about it. We could have had a big, beautiful bridge with ten lanes, space for transit, space to grow.

This budget is a betrayal of every promise this NDP government ever made. It’s a betrayal of seniors, of health care patients, of small business owners and of the people of Surrey.

The former NDP Finance Minister said that this government’s leadership has hurt the NDP brand. But the hurt this budget does to the NDP brand is nothing compared to the hurt it does to the people of B.C. — to seniors who will lose their homes, to families who can’t get a doctor, to small business owners who are scared to open their doors, to people scared to leave their basements for being shot.

[2:55 p.m.]

This government must reverse course. It must cancel the property tax deferral interest rate hike for seniors; pause the Cloverdale police transition until the SPS can safely take over; fund, not just allow, a Surrey police academy to fix the officer shortage; reverse the corrections budget cuts; and keep violent criminals behind bars.

Either deliver on the $10-a-day daycare promise they made ten years ago, or be honest and tell the families out there that it just isn’t going to happen.

The people of Surrey-Panorama deserve better. They deserve a government that puts people’s needs first, not their own political ambitions. This government has failed. It’s time for them to take responsibility or get out of the way.

Can’t run a popsicle stand, indeed.

Hon. Anne Kang: It is an honour to respond to the 2026 budget here today as the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport and the MLA for Burnaby Centre.

I would like to begin by acknowledging that the B.C. Legislature is on the territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking Peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations.

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge the recent tragedy in Tumbler Ridge. My heart goes out to everyone in the community, especially the families who have lost a loved one.

This is a deeply shocking and painful time for so many, both at a local level and across the country, and we are committed to ensuring there is timely, coordinated support available to the people in Tumbler Ridge, including counselling services, health resources and community assistance. Supports will remain in place as long as they are needed. As we stand with Tumbler Ridge, our commitment to all British Columbians remains steadfast.

I would like to take this opportunity today to talk about Budget 2026 and what that means for the province and what my ministry has to offer. Budget 2026 comes at a time when many families, communities and sectors throughout British Columbia are feeling the impact of global uncertainty and rising costs.

Over the past eight years, we’ve built strong foundations in our tourism, arts, culture and sports sectors, and those foundations matter now more than ever, because we have to be realistic and disciplined about the choices ahead, because every dollar must count. That’s why we’re taking responsible steps to strengthen revenues, grow the economy and secure long-term benefits for major projects. With the Look West strategy, we’re moving fast, cutting timelines, unlocking major projects and creating good jobs across the tourism, arts, culture, sport and creative industries.

Tourism, arts, culture and sports are pillars of our economy and essential to the cultural social fabric of this province. The people who work in these sectors are the heart and soul of communities throughout British Columbia. These sectors generate jobs, support local businesses, strengthen local economies, build resilient communities and attract visitors and talent from around the world. These industries fuel creativity, inspire innovation and spark solutions that benefit every region. They help young people find their path, help communities express who they are and help us stay connected to one another during difficult times.

When COVID hit, British Columbians turned to these sectors, to local trails and parks, community sport, books, music and film for connection and hope. In today’s hard times, people are turning to them again.

These sectors also support reconciliation by uplifting Indigenous artists, athletes and cultural leaders and by creating programs where communities can heal, learn and build together. In a year where government must be careful with spending, our message is clear. These sectors remain vital, and we will continue to prioritize them.

[3:00 p.m.]

Tourism continues to be a strong contributor to B.C.’s economy. This sector is one of the largest small business generators and employers in the province, with almost 17,000 businesses directly providing services to visitors in B.C. It also supports more than 113,000 direct jobs. When we include indirect jobs, that number increases to almost 163,000 full-time jobs in 2024.

Last year we saw resiliency, incredible entrepreneur spirit and communities working hard to welcome visitors from around the world.

Tourism generated nearly $9.4 billion to our provincial GDP and $23 billion in revenue in 2024. In 2024, B.C.’s tourism industry produced nearly $2.1 billion in federal taxes, nearly $1.8 billion in provincial taxes and more than $300 million in local government taxes. We continue to see growth in international visitors to B.C., with 5.4 million overnight visitor arrivals in 2024, up 7 percent from the previous year. This is good news.

Last year’s hotels recorded an average provincial occupancy rate of 70 percent. YVR landed its biggest year ever with a record 26.9 million travellers passing through the airport in 2025, which was supported by over 230 full-time jobs.

We recognize that a skilled, stable labour force is essential for strengthening communities and driving long-term economic prosperity through tourism.

That is why, through Look West, we will be delivering a tourism growth strategy to position B.C.’s tourism sector for long-term growth and success by creating the conditions needed to attract investments in tourism infrastructure and experiences, by exploring opportunities to grow and diversify the industry, by extending seasons and expanding tourism offerings and by leveraging the global exposure from FIFA World Cup ’26 to generate jobs and deliver benefits to communities throughout British Columbia.

B.C.’s outdoor recreation is a cornerstone of this growth, attracting visitors from around the world to experience B.C.’s mountains, forests, rivers and coastline. These experiences not only drive visitation but also sustain local economies and small businesses in rural and Indigenous communities.

We’re committed to supporting our mountain resorts, adventure tourism operators and commercial recreation providers who deliver safe, world-class experiences that connect visitors with B.C.’s natural landscapes.

Together these efforts strengthen our economy, and tourism is ready to lead the way. That’s why it’s critical that we continue to work with our partners like Destination B.C. to support a strong, sustainable visitor economy. In Budget 2026, we will be taking steps to ensure tourism operators — large and small, rural and urban — have the support that they need.

This investment is supporting our government’s broader strategy to modernize permitting and regulatory frameworks, ensuring continued, focused efforts to advance investment and the growth of our world-class mountain resort sector. Ski resorts drive investments in rural communities throughout B.C., including $2.02 billion invested in ski areas on Crown land.

To support our future workforce and economic development needs in key sectors such as tourism, we are investing in post-secondary institutions to help build capacity. These investments will build capacity to support future workforce and economic development needs in key sectors, including tourism.

This includes a $58 million investment at Kelowna’s Okanagan College campus for a four-storey, hybrid mass timber centre for food, wine and tourism, expected to be completed by 2027.

This year we will also continue to support B.C. as a world-class destination, working with our Crown corporation Destination B.C. and other tourism partners to promote local travel, strengthen international markets, support major events and help tourism businesses remain competitive.

[3:05 p.m.]

People are fascinated by culture, our history, our heritages. Our museums do an excellent job sharing B.C.’s story to the world. The province is committed to the conservation and protection of its historical and heritage resources.

I am so proud of the incredible work our government is doing with our partners to preserve our history through the conservation of provincial heritage sites.

Since 2020, the province has provided a record investment of more than $55 million to preserve and protect B.C.’s heritage assets. Heritage sites are powerful tourism drivers, attracting visitors who seek authentic cultural experiences and encouraging travelers to explore beyond major urban city centres for deeper, more meaningful connections to B.C.’s history.

Speaking of making history, as we look to host the FIFA World Cup, the world’s largest single sport event, we must capitalize on this unprecedented opportunity for British Columbia. Through the Look West strategy, we are positioning B.C. as a reliable and competitive destination for Canadians and global investors, leveraging the FIFA World Cup to showcase our expertise, strategic location and key sectors of strength to a worldwide audience.

With the eyes of the world upon us, the tournament will shine a powerful global spotlight on British Columbia as a premiere destination for tourism, trade and long-term investment. Beyond the seven matches being played in Vancouver, the tournament will leave lasting legacies that extend well beyond the pitch throughout British Columbia with an exciting announcement coming this March.

This is about supporting local businesses, good jobs for British Columbians, attracting new investment and strengthening B.C.’s place on the global stage for decades to come. The seven matches are expected to attract more than 350,000 soccer fans to B.C. Place during the tournament and generate over $1 billion in visitor spending for B.C.’s economy from 2026 through 2031.

In the five years following, we are expecting to see more than one million additional out-of-province visitors and potentially up to $224 million in direct, indirect and other related provincial tax revenues. We are supporting communities across the province to bring the excitement of FIFA to community celebrations throughout the province in addition to the FIFA fan festival.

Research shows that visitors often return three or four times over their lifetimes. By showcasing our province during the moment, we ensure that people come back again and again for business, for travel, for trade and for investment. It’s clear that we’re making strategic investments, harnessing the social and economic benefits of these matches and making sure people all over the region of B.C. share in the benefits of hosting this sport.

Sport is one of the most powerful tools we have to bring people together. Whether it’s high-performance competition or weekend recreation, sport builds healthier communities and supports young people in every corner of B.C.

Our government remains committed to making sport in British Columbia safe, inclusive and accessible for all. That is why the provincial government invests approximately $50 million annually in sport to help bring healthy living and community economic benefits to the entire province. This investment directly supports over 70 sport organizations and over 718,000 members of amateur sport organizations to get active and engaged in their communities.

When playing sports, everyone deserves to feel safe. That’s why we are committed to strengthening safe sport measures, including the development of the PlaySafe B.C. program and establishing Sport Safeguarding B.C. Sport is helping young athletes throughout British Columbia turn potential into achievement, from competing at the B.C. Games to representing Canada on the Olympic stage.

By supporting sport, we’re not just funding competition. We’re strengthening communities, creating jobs and driving local spending that stays right here at home, while bringing people together through the shared pride and spirit that only sport can inspire.

[3:10 p.m.]

The same passion that fuels our sports sector fuels our artists, bringing our communities together. Arts and culture reflect who we are. They help us understand our history, celebrate our communities and share our stories with the world. From museums and galleries, theatre companies and festivals, to grassroots organizations that keep culture alive in every region of B.C., this sector enriches our lives and keeps our province vibrant.

Over the years, we’ve built a strong foundation of programs that British Columbians can count on, and we will continue to support the people who make arts and culture possible, because their work strengthens communities and enriches lives across the province.

At the centre of this support is the B.C. Arts Council. Through the B.C. Arts Council, we support programs that help artists and organizations thrive, from operating funding that keeps theatres, galleries and cultural centres open to arts training and community festivals that give kids their first chance to dance, sing, paint or perform on a stage. We will continue these supports.

Programs like the destination events program also help festivals and cultural experiences grow, reach new audiences and strengthen B.C.’s cultural landscape.

I want to highlight the important role of community gaming grants. These grants reach deep into communities throughout B.C.

Each year the province invests as much as $140 million through community gaming grants, supporting approximately 5,000 non-profit organizations and strengthening communities throughout British Columbia.

Supporting arts and culture groups — such as youth programs, food banks, parent advisory councils, local sport clubs, capital projects and front-line human service organizations — the grants help keep the doors open at the places that families rely on every day. They make sure that people stay connected, supported and able to participate in community life.

Just as our arts and culture sector reflects who we are, our creative industries demonstrate what British Columbians can achieve. B.C.’s creative industries — film, television, music, publishing, animation and digital media — are recognized globally as leaders in innovation and production excellence.

Together these industries form a powerful cultural and economic engine, one that inspires, employs and elevates talent across the province. They employ tens of thousands of highly skilled people and attract major productions, like Shōgun and The Last of Us, that fuel local economies.

We’ve seen incredible recognition this year, with B.C. talent front and centre. From Nanaimo’s Cameron Whitcomb, a five-time Juno nominee, including Album of the Year, to the Golden Globe–winning animated film KPop Demon Hunters — powered in part by B.C.’s animation teams, who also contributed to Oscar-nominated titles like Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash — our creative industry showcased B.C.’s talent, diversity and technical experience on the world stage.

Last year we boosted support for the motion picture industry, including increased tax credits for our domestic sector and for productions coming from other jurisdictions, and we introduced a new bonus incentive for major productions. We also increased interactive digital media tax credits to support a strong digital media industry and ensure that B.C. remains competitive.

These investments are working. B.C. continues to attract major productions such as from Sony, HBO and Disney. Through Budget 2026 and in response to industry feedback, we introduced important improvements to the film and television tax credit programs. These include simplifying filing and certification requirements and removing the pre-certification requirement.

We also strengthened our broader creative sector by making the book publishing tax credit permanent, providing stable, long-term support for B.C.’s publishers and authors.

Together, these changes make it easier for productions and creative companies, both locally and internationally, to access the supports they rely on, while keeping B.C. competitive and production-ready.

[3:15 p.m.]

This support is critical in creating high-paying jobs in the sector and expanding opportunities for thousands of people living in British Columbia.

To build on this momentum, we are working with cross-ministry and industry partners to develop a provincial film and television strategy. This strategy will help the sector stay strong and competitive as global markets continue to shift. It will build on the strength of our people and our studios so B.C. stays a place where productions want to film and where our own creators can succeed.

I want to take this opportunity to talk about Burnaby-related projects and to emphasize that budgets don’t just announce projects; they deliver them. The most meaningful measure of a government’s commitment is whether the things we promised in past years are built, opened, staffed and used by the public, especially when times get tough.

Global uncertainty is not just a headline. It is a reality that shows up in grocery bills, in rental cheques and in anxiety about the future. That’s exactly why our approach matters. In this moment, the province has chosen to make careful, disciplined choices to protect what matters most, like education and health care, and to keep building a stronger future. We are protecting core services and continuing to build across the province, including in my riding of Burnaby Centre.

We are safeguarding health care and education, supporting people who need care and assistance, and moving forward with a substantial and sustainable capital plan that creates jobs and meets the real needs of British Columbians. It means being honest about fiscal pressures that we are facing while refusing to compromise on essential community needs.

In Burnaby, one of the clearest examples of that commitment is BCIT. BCIT has a special place in my community as one of the cornerstone institutes that help shape our community and the future of our workplace and workforce in British Columbia. Everyone has a place in BCIT, from a newly graduated high-schooler to a mid-career professional looking to change careers or advance in their own career.

As a proud MLA for BCIT, I can confidently say that when we talk about the future-proofing of our economy and creating more opportunities for skills training, BCIT is an example of what it looks like on the ground.

That is why I’m proud to highlight the south campus infrastructure renewal project at BCIT. The province has committed $48 million for this work, replacing aging electrical, stormwater and other critical infrastructure. Construction is expected to be completed in 2029. This is foundational work. Renewing the backbone of a campus is exactly what responsible governments do when they say they will safeguard what we have built.

Another exciting project happening at BCIT is the announcement of the trades and technology complex, a collection of new and renovated buildings that will add 1,200 student trade and technology seats in modernized learning spaces. The province is providing $151.6 million, and it will be completed in 2027. It is expected to generate 738 direct jobs and 406 indirect jobs, those numbers representing paycheques, apprenticeships, contracts for local suppliers and years of economic activity.

The bigger point is this. Every seat in a trade program is a concrete response to labour shortages that are holding back housing construction, infrastructure projects and business expansion. It is a plan to secure good-paying jobs and economic prosperity for people and families.

If we want to talk honestly about affordability, we also need to talk honestly about student housing. British Columbian families know how tight the rental market has been for years — low vacancy rates, rising rent and a high demand in rental housing. When students can’t find housing they can afford, it pushes demand into the surrounding neighbourhoods. That is why the Tall Timber student housing project at BCIT is so important. It creates 470 new affordable student housing spaces with a provincial investment of $129 million, helping reduce pressure in local private rental housing.

[3:20 p.m.]

Alongside the student housing investment, I want to highlight an accomplishment that will matter to thousands of Burnaby families: 4277 Norland Avenue. This project delivers 155 affordable homes for seniors and seniors with disabilities. The province provided $16.9 million through B.C. Housing’s community housing fund, and the project was completed in 2025. This means that a senior who wants to stay in Burnaby can do so, and a couple living on a fixed income can remain close to their friends, their cultural community and their family.

These investments matter to the families and communities directly affected, but they also matter to every British Columbian, because we are starting to see the impact of the housing supply across the region. The CMHC reports that the greater Vancouver rental vacancy rate more than doubled in 2025, rising from 1.6 percent to 3.7 percent.

Projects like Tall Timber and 4277 Norland Avenue are part of the reason we can point to progress, because when we invest in affordable and student housing, we ease pressure, slow rents and help people tackle everyday costs.

If there is one project in Burnaby that captures the heart of what people want from the government, especially in uncertain times, it is the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment and the construction of the B.C. Cancer Centre. When people talk in Burnaby about health care, they talk about the emergency department. They talk about the surgery wait times. They talk about the crowded hallways and about whether their loved ones can get care close to their home.

This redevelopment is transformative. It will add two new patient care towers with new units and operating rooms, resulting in 399 beds, a bigger emergency department and a new cancer treatment centre. This province is investing $633.3 million in phase 1 and $1.7 billion in phase 2, which includes the B.C. Cancer Centre. The second patient care tower is expected to have 160 new beds and a state-of-the-art cancer treatment centre and a new six-storey pavilion, which will house the new surgery centre.

Together both phases are expected to create 17,548 direct jobs and 6.5 thousand indirect jobs.

Even when budgets are under pressure, we will protect the most critical services people rely on every day by strengthening health care and ensuring the system remains responsive to the needs of people.

I want to underline something from the province’s strategic direction. We are facing global uncertainty and high cost that puts pressure on public finances. But disciplined choices are being made so that we can prevent cuts to critical services and focus resources on what people depend on. This government is choosing to step forward with investments that expand access to modern equality and care.

I am incredibly proud of the work that people across our sectors and our province do every day. Their creativity, their resilience and their passion are the reasons British Columbia is known across the world for its culture, its people and its experiences. Even in uncertain times, our province remains strong, diverse and full of opportunity.

Our government is taking a careful and responsible approach to this year’s budget, but we are not stepping back from the work that makes people’s lives better. We will continue to stand with our partners, our communities and our sectors, and we will continue listening, learning and collaborating.

Together we will build a strong, sustainable future for tourism, arts, culture and sport in British Columbia. When we invest in this sector, we are not only making strategic investments to our economy; we are also investing in the well-being and pride of this province. No matter what challenges come our way, British Columbians will meet them together.

I support this Budget 2026, and so does my ministry.

[Mable Elmore in the chair.]

Elenore Sturko: Thank you for this opportunity to speak to Budget 2026.

[3:25 p.m.]

My constituents in Surrey-Cloverdale are diverse families. We have seniors, small businesses. We have business owners and leaders from large companies, all of whom deserve a government that manages our province’s finances responsibly and invests in their future. Today I rise to respond to this 2026 provincial budget, and it’s a budget that unfortunately falls short of that mark.

This budget projects a staggering $13.3 billion deficit, the largest in British Columbia’s history, with the provincial debt skyrocketing to $234.5 billion by 2028-2029. It’s a plan riddled with tax hikes, hidden cuts and delays that will burden families and seniors while failing to ignite the economic growth that our province needs.

This government claims to be making disciplined choices to protect core services, yet what we’re seeing is a ballooning deficit, $3.1 billion higher than last year’s projections. Despite raising taxes and slashing 15,000 public sector jobs over three years, the debt-to-GDP ratio climbs to 37.4 percent, increasing borrowing costs and risking further credit downgrades.

It’s not only Independents and opposition MLAs who are pointing out the shortcomings of the 2026 budget. Business organizations and leaders across the province have come out very strongly to voice their disapproval.

The B.C. Chamber of Commerce calls this budget “a sobering economic outlook” with “little in the way of needed economic incentives.” They highlight the alarming deficit increase and the debt climbing from $154 billion to $235 billion. Jen Riley, the chamber’s president and CEO, noted that the budget offers no meaningful plan to kick-start our economy or generate prosperity for citizens and businesses.

Similarly, the Vancouver Board of Trade gave this budget a failing D grade, the lowest in over 20 years, citing slow growth, higher taxes, runaway spending. Bridgitte Anderson, the CEO, warned that it confirms “slow growth, higher taxes and continued runaway spending.”

Business groups, like the B.C. Business Council, echo these concerns, saying that the budget fails to stabilize our fiscal trajectory by restraining spending or improving conditions for private sector investment. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or the CFIB, criticizes the expansion of the provincial sales tax to additional professional services, calling it “a move in the wrong direction.” It adds that cost pressures to small businesses are already struggling.

The Independent Contractors and Business Association describes this budget as a “mess” and “awful for construction.” They point to delays in major projects like hospitals. I believe that the hospital that the Minister for Tourism and Sport was just talking about in her own riding is, in fact, one of the projects that’s delayed. While it’s a source of pride for her, I think, it’s, frankly, embarrassing for this government that they would have to “re-pace projects” that they then go on to brag about in their own speeches.

I’d also add that the NDP’s decision to add community benefits agreements in their decisions added an estimated 4 to 7 percent onto the cost of every government infrastructure project.

Over the last couple of years, B.C. has had a record number of people migrate out of the province, citing the high cost of living. A significant number of those who are choosing to leave our province are young people. They don’t see a future for themselves here, and this budget’s projected modest economic growth of just 1.3 percent in 2026 means fewer opportunities for young people starting out and more uncertainty for those trying to make ends meet.

I’d like to talk for a moment about public safety. I was very disappointed to see a lack of greater investment in public safety. Cloverdale residents have been targeted by violence with multiple extortions, multiple extortion-related shootings. I was very disappointed, frankly, that I didn’t see a greater investment both to fund the police for special teams that deal with enforcement against gang activity and also without an even greater investment to combat illegal firearms.

[3:30 p.m.]

Extortions have had a tremendous impact on people who live in Cloverdale. We’ve had some victims of extortion that have been hit multiple times in their same residence. Just, actually, a couple blocks from where I live, we had a home that was targeted for a shooting, and a gardener got a bullet lodged in their face.

There is no doubt this government is actually taking the extortion crisis seriously, but the way in which they are funding public safety is not going to be adequate to address the depth of the problems that we currently have.

One of the ways that they’re failing is by not increasing the number of provincially funded RCMP officers. A couple of years ago the government did make an investment in increasing the number of police officers on the provincial business line, but this simply filled vacancies that they had let go vacant for years. The fact is that the provincial business line of the RCMP in B.C. has been stuck at 2,602 members since 2012.

These are the members who respond in communities like Tumbler Ridge, for example, small communities, and also are part of provincial teams that have been tasked with joining the provincial extortion task force. When we keep the number of police officers at the provincial business line stagnant, it actually also puts a disproportionate cost onto municipalities, who then themselves have to pay for a larger number of RCMP if that is who is supporting their community in rural areas.

I also want to address something that the member for Panorama had brought up, and that is the Surrey policing transition. I can tell you that the residents of Surrey-Cloverdale are ready for the SPS to come and transition us over to their services. We welcome the transition to continue on time on April 1.

I think that the concerns that are raised over whether or not the review that the director of police services has done would be giving confidence to citizens that there are, in fact, enough human resources to take over the transition…. I would ask the government to be more clear on how they can provide assurances that the transition is adequately staffed with personnel on the front line.

I would also point out that the municipal police force says it needs over 70 members to move the transition forward into our community when the RCMP is doing it with just over 30 at this time.

We do welcome the transition to continue. We’re supportive of the minister wanting to advance the transition on April 1. I’ve heard concerns from members of the public, businesses, the chamber of commerce and the business improvement association that we’ve actually seen a reduction in police services since the scaling back of the RCMP as part of the transition. They were asked to decommission special teams, so we’ve actually, in Cloverdale, seen a reduction in services.

We welcome SPS to continue to transition into our area. We’re proud to have our new police force coming to our area April 1. I just want to reiterate that, for my constituents, this is an important thing to go forward. But yes, we definitely need more resources on the provincial business line of the RCMP and for public safety overall, and this budget isn’t delivering it.

If our municipal police need more officers for extortion, then I would like to hold the government accountable for its promise at the end of November to provide a surge capacity of RCMP officers into Surrey to help fight extortion. Let’s move our brand-new and hard-working members of the SPS to our front line, and let’s bring in those supplements that this government promised to my community.

I can’t talk about crime and funding without actually talking about health funding as well, specifically to talk about funding for mental health and addiction, which was pretty much nothing in this budget.

[3:35 p.m.]

A re-announcement of 100 beds that the Premier had disclosed under pressure at the end of the UBCM meetings in September, after mayors held a rally on the steps of this Legislature to talk about the absolutely crisis amounts of street disorder that people are experiencing in communities all across British Columbia.

Recent surveys have been done by a number of different groups — Save Our Streets coalition, business improvement areas of British Columbia — and, time and again, the results come back to say over half of British Columbians currently feel unsafe in their neighbourhoods.

These types of feelings, wellness and safety, are not always reflected in crime stats. The reason for that is that people don’t always report to the police. They don’t always call in, particularly if it’s a persistent problem like street disorder and they’ve called time and again and, in their perception, nothing happens. Or they’re a business that has experienced a high level of shoplifting, and the person who steals from them on an almost daily basis never gets charge approval and comes back again and again.

I think it’s important, when…. I’m talking about the underfunding of public safety ministries by this government in the 2026 budget, but it is also directly linked to their underfunding of mental health care, in particular, in British Columbia, in the 2026 budget.

One of the examples that I’ll give you is a recent news story about an individual. It’s really sad. They were in Nanaimo. They broke into a tugboat. Many people saw this on television.

It was reported that this is a person who suffered from drug addiction. They had been struggling. They had tried to go into voluntary addictions treatment. They struggled. They relapsed, and they ended up in the situation where they spent over 30 hours on a tugboat, absolutely smashed it.

They’re seen in a video, smoking, at one point, illicit drugs from what looks like the same kind of bubbler pipe that they’re giving out in NDP government harm reduction sites. What happens is they end up in a standoff with police, arrested, released. Then the first thing the person does…. They come back to the tugboat. They get picked up again by the police.

This time the police actually go and find them. They’re in a business where they’re committing a theft. The person gets held in custody. The following day, Nanaimo RCMP come out in public, and they give a warning to residents in Nanaimo, and they say: “You know what? We’re giving you tips on how to prevent break and enter. We’re giving you tips on how to secure your home against someone breaking in and what to do if you come home and you find somebody in your tugboat or your home.”

That’s backwards. I respect the RCMP for giving those warnings, and it’s sad that we have to be in this place. But why should it be, under this government, and I pose this question to all British Columbians, that a person who is sick and who is addicted with an obvious mental illness because of drug use is free on the street and without adequate care, while citizens who are just minding their own business, trying to live a happy life here in B.C., have to batten down the hatches and barricade themselves in their homes? It’s backwards.

It’s an extreme disappointment to me to see how these two issues, which are connected…. Our problem that we have in this province with public safety issues, the ones that cause people the most distress, I would say, apart from….

Obviously, extortions are causing a lot of distress, but people can see, on the street, the street disorder. Business owners are experiencing the shopliftings. Many of these issues that we have are directly linked to health issues, mental health, addictions, and we are failing.

I actually really like the ReVOII program. I think that B.C. prosecution service and the bail supervisors and the police, the RCMP and municipal police, are doing a great job at administrating this program, and it does have some good outcomes. But the reality is that there is a huge number of people that do not meet the criteria of that program and that the services that we’re providing are ineffective.

[3:40 p.m.]

One of the ways in which…. I would have loved to see in this budget — which is a connection, actually, between justice and public safety and health care — funding to create live-in treatment units within B.C. Corrections, meaning that anyone who would be sentenced to two years less a day would be eligible to live in a unit within B.C. Corrections and receive treatment, receive health care, receive intensive mental health care services so we can finally help some of these individuals break the cycle that they are caught in, in our province right now.

Maybe we’ll get there. I think other provinces are doing this. I was heartened to see that, especially in Surrey Pretrial, there are ten beds that were funded, created last year, to help if there’s someone who’s in psychosis that gets brought in by the police.

They’re able to go then…. Instead of waiting for a space at the forensic psychiatric hospital, they can go into one of these beds. They can receive treatment immediately to help alleviate the symptoms of the mental illness that they’re diagnosed with and help that person. But that’s only ten beds out of this humongous province.

We have a lot of pretrial centres in B.C. We have a lot of correctional facilities where these services could help so many people break this terrible cycle. I can tell you that we would be going a long way in this province to addressing that 50 percent of people that keep coming back on the surveys who don’t feel safe. It is a completely solvable problem. But we can’t solve it unless we’re putting the programs in place that will address the root of these issues.

I spoke briefly, too, about the firearms, wishing to see…. I know that the government…. I was actually pleased, I’ll say, to see that, I think, a $600,000 investment in the gun lab in Surrey was given to help further investigations into firearms, particularly in light of the extortion crisis that we’re going through. But I still believe that this is too little funding. We need to have a greater amount of funding.

We need to see that we’re going to actually increase our firearms program to look for three types of things that we need to actually be addressing in this province. We need to be addressing illegal firearms that are coming from the United States. CSIS reports and other government reports show that over 95 percent of guns used in crimes are illegal firearms coming from south of the border.

We’re also seeing a rise in 3D-printed guns. Some federal legislation actually came into effect in 2024 that helped us deal, at least legally, if people are caught with either the plans or downloading or in possession of 3D-printed guns. But this is an emerging issue that actually will require us to have more resources. I’d like to see dedicated resources going, even, to reviewing provincially and seeing some more analysis on how often we’re seeing these occurrences and what we can do to get ahead of this problem.

The third way in which illegal firearms are making their way into the hands of criminals in this province is through straw buyers. That’s where someone with a possession and acquisition licence in our province buys firearms legally, but then illegally sells them, gives them or distributes them otherwise to people who are not able to have guns, who either are prohibited from having firearms or just simply don’t have a possession and acquisition licence.

These are three fairly significant issues that I think that most British Columbians would agree are a good investment in this at a time when, in my opinion, we have a gun and firearm crisis in British Columbia.

I’ve spent a lot of time speaking about mental health and crime because it’s a huge problem. So I’m going to skip ahead on some of my budget speech.

I guess, I’ll move to something that I also found really disturbing in the budget. That’s the re-pacing — the cancellation, really — of some long-term-care projects. Apart from very strongly advocating for better mental health policies, better drug policies, law enforcement supports, health care is, for all of us…. I think we can all agree that we want to be able to provide British Columbians the best health care possible, and we want it to be free and accessible for everybody.

[3:45 p.m.]

At the end of last year, the media had acquired from the Ministry of Health the statistics on overcrowding in hospitals. They published at the end of last year, in the Tyee, a list of 20 hospitals in the province that consistently ran over 110 percent capacity.

The data also talked about how, for all of those hospitals, there is an average of between 10 and 15 percent of those beds in those hospitals that have people who are awaiting an alternate level of care, whether it’s some form of therapy that they need or they need to go for rehabilitation services.

The most significant portion of those people are actually seniors waiting for long-term care. The list of 20…. It was a long list. Some of the most significant were, for example: Abbotsford Regional Hospital, 128 percent beyond capacity; Chilliwack General Hospital, 117 percent over capacity — these are consistently running, the average for them — Delta Hospital, 128 percent on average over capacity; Surrey Memorial, on average 115 percent over capacity.

Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Delta are all locations where their long-term-care facility is re-paced. It’s delayed or cancelled. It’s indefinite.

This just doesn’t make sense, because when we have hospitals that are over capacity this way, it doesn’t just impact the seniors who are waiting for care and their families. It impacts the other patients in the hospital who are experiencing hallway medicine, overcrowding, people who are actually in the emergency department but they can’t go into another department of the hospital because there’s no bed. So they actually are forced to stay in the hospital in the emergency department.

I can’t say that it’s related, but we recently heard of a young person in Vernon, at Vernon Jubilee, who had taken themself voluntarily and were certified under the Mental Health Act. According to their family, because of no capacity in the psychiatric unit, they were kept in the emergency room for six days before they walked out and were hit by a vehicle, and they died, tragically.

All of these issues, keeping people in the emergency department who need to go to other spaces in the hospital…. All of this adds up, not just for the patients. It’s the health care professionals too.

We’re on a huge campaign, rightly so, in British Columbia for recruiting and bringing doctors, nurses, going to the United States to invite people to come and become British Columbians and work here in our province. But to retain people, we have to make sure that we’re addressing these capacity issues. I mean, the math does not add up on delaying care.

I see that I’ve dwindled my time down to five minutes. I’m going to go to another topic in this budget that I found just absolutely confounding.

My partner, Melissa, and I have a daughter who is very high functioning, but she has autism. These changes will take place starting in 2027, but I’m just really, really surprised and, frankly, disappointed. I’m upset. I feel sad with the changes that are made to disability funding.

The part I’m happy about is that more children with different diagnoses are included under the umbrella of receiving services. That’s completely something that should have probably happened a long time ago, to give more kids in B.C. a chance to be supported and cared for by the government.

[3:50 p.m.]

What this change does is actually strips care away from kids who are considered “high functioning.” I can tell you as someone who has a child with autism who is considered high functioning that it was already difficult to find services. It’s very difficult to get approval for things even when you have funding. To know that potentially 10,000 families now can be without that extra funding that might have been the little boost that their child needed is devastating.

I’m in a position with my spouse where we may be able to help our daughter more than other people, but that’s not everybody. Even when there are sliding scales, it is never painting a true picture of someone’s financial situation.

These cuts, even on a sliding scale, are going to disadvantage some kids. That is unfortunate. I’ve received dozens upon dozens of emails and letters to my office. I’m sure that other MLAs in this place also have. I hope that the government will re-evaluate this program and this spending formula to make sure that every kid in B.C. is getting the funding that they need.

On Sunday, I went to the Chinatown parade in Vancouver to celebrate lunar new year. Saw many of my colleagues, leaders in the Chinese community, Vancouver city council, the mayor, lots of people down there.

We went to a reception. In between the parade and the reception, one of my staff and I decided to go for a coffee. We just went around the corner from the gardens, walked in, and the first thing we see is a fully uniformed security guard. That security guard is employed….

To be clear, we did walk through a gauntlet of people openly consuming drugs. I’m probably guessing that this individual is employed to keep people from coming inside and causing a disturbance or stealing stuff. That’s the reality that business owners are dealing with.

But how many cups of coffee do you think you have to sell to pay for a security guard at a coffee shop? That is a lot of coffee. And now with changes to the PST, the government is adding PST to the cost of having a security guard. I just find this absolutely mind-blowing, mind-boggling that the government would….

It’s created a situation, through, as I said earlier, underfunding in mental health services, underfunding in addiction services, underfunding in a collaboration between our correctional institutions and our law enforcement and health care, dealing with people with severe mental health and addiction….

They’ve created this perfect storm where the business community is facing rampant shoplifting, people coming into their businesses causing a disturbance. We know London Drugs is closing because their staff had feces being thrown at them, people threatening them on a daily basis. They have to hire security. The government has created this environment and now stands to profit off of the absolute need that people have to hire security guards. Outrageous.

There’s just so much in this budget that I’ve left unsaid here. But I hope that my constituents can tell from my passion about what’s really missing here, in terms of spending and funding for core services that they say that they’re protecting.

It’s a disappointment. I don’t support this budget. I’m extremely disappointed in the way that it lets some of the most vulnerable in our province down — seniors, kids with disabilities, people with severe mental illness, business owners, family members. Name any person that lives in this province, and I can guarantee there’s a way that Budget 2026 is letting them down.

But I thank you for this opportunity to speak to the budget. I wish you well.

Deputy Speaker: Recognizing the member for Burnaby East.

Rohini Arora: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise….

Deputy Speaker: Just a minute.

Member for Kelowna-Mission.

Point of Order

Gavin Dew: Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Point of order. We do have a basis of alternating recognition, which would normally suggest that after the government speaks, the opposition speaks. The member for Kelowna Centre was the first standing before the Speaker chose to recognize the member from Surrey.

[3:55 p.m.]

I would ask that we return to the appropriate speaking rotation by having the member for Kelowna Centre speak next. Thank you.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member. It’s the decision of the Chair to recognize speakers, and I do my best to alternate between government and opposition. Of course, we need to hear from our Third Party and independents, and it’s my decision to recognize our next speaker for Burnaby East.

Gavin Dew: I recognize that there is a level of discretion conferred upon the Speaker, but I would like a procedural ruling on this.

Deputy Speaker: Member, I’ve made my ruling.

Debate Continued

Rohini Arora: I rise today as the MLA for Burnaby East and the deputy chair of the government caucus to speak in support of Budget 2026.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the territory where we are all speaking from. Since time immemorial, the lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples, now known as the xʷsepsəm and Songhees Nations, have stewarded the area we call the Gorge waterway, building relationships with the land and water that continue to this day.

The Gorge waterway has long been a place of cultural significance, livelihood and sustenance. Shellfish, herring and salmon were harvested from the waterway, and birds and wildlife such as deer, elk and bear were hunted. Cultural shell deposits, middens comprising shells, bones and tools, have been dated back more than 4,000 years along the Gorge. Culturally significant plants, such as coastal sage and the greater camas, were harvested and cultivated along the waterway for food and medicine.

The waterway also serves as an integral connection between the nations. The Gorge is a place of both ecological and cultural richness. The proper name for the Gorge is Camossung, a lək̓ʷəŋən term for “where waters meet and are transformed.”

I’d also like to acknowledge and express my heartfelt gratitude to the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm Nations for their stewardship of the most beautiful area in B.C., where Burnaby East is situated and I have the honour to serve my community.

Before I begin my remarks about the budget, I want to acknowledge the heavy cloud that hangs over our province. My heart and the hearts of all of the constituents of Burnaby East are with the people of Tumbler Ridge, especially those families who have lost a loved one.

My thoughts are with the entire community who have experienced such a heart-wrenching tragedy. In moments like these, we are reminded that beyond our political differences, we are a community bound by our human experience, and it is shaped by our compassion for one another. Our government is continuing to provide supports to Tumbler Ridge, including counselling services, health resources and community assistance.

To the people of Tumbler Ridge: British Columbia stands with you, and we will do everything in our power to support you through this dark time.

Maya, I wish you imminent healing. Your tenacity is an example to us all.

I’d like to express my support for Budget 2026. It hasn’t been an easy one, and it doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination to understand why. The world is sharing a moment of profound global uncertainty.

In B.C., we are navigating a period of serious fiscal challenges driven by volatile commodity markets. In B.C., we are broadly devastated, as well as the east, but I feel like B.C. in particular is devastated by the arbitrary decisions that we keep hearing about from the south and the announcements that are keeping everyone on their toes. And that’s putting it lightly.

[4:00 p.m.]

Because this moment is different, this budget is different. When the world faces high levels of unpredictability and gets more expensive, a government has two choices. It can retreat into austerity, cut the services people rely on and leave families to fend for themselves, or it can stand in the gap.

Budget 2026 is our government standing in that gap. We are choosing to protect health care. We are choosing to protect education. We are choosing to keep B.C. one of the lowest-taxed provinces for working families. It is a plan built on disciplined, focused choices to protect the services that British Columbians — and, specifically, the amazing people of Burnaby East, whom I represent — rely on the most.

I want to speak directly to my community. For the people of Burnaby East, Budget 2026 is not a collection of numbers. It’s a collection of milestones.

Let’s talk about the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment. Members opposite looked at the TBC status for phase 2 and told this House it meant “to be cancelled.”

Let me be crystal clear for the residents of Burnaby. Phase 1 is happening right now. It is hundreds of millions in investment that is currently under construction. You can see progress. You can see cranes. We’re nearing completion of a major part of phase 1 of the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment project, a new six-storey acute care tower with 83 new beds, as well as a new mental health and substance use unit, a maternity unit, neonatal intensive care and a medical unit, which opens on March 10.

Renovations on the remaining parts of phase 1 — the expansion and renovations of the Support Facilities Building, which includes the new Jim Pattison Surgery Centre, with additional operating and procedure rooms and an expanded Burnaby Community Emergency Department — will continue into 2027.

This is not a marketing exercise. It is an active construction site, and any insinuation that the whole or any part of it is being cancelled is simply wrong.

The timing of phase 2 of the Burnaby Hospital has been adjusted as part of the ongoing effort to strategically sequence the project to the province’s capital plan.

The first phase of the project is experiencing delays due to changes in the scope and the complexity of renovating and operating acute care facilities, which impacts the construction timelines for phase 2. Further work is needed on phase 2 to ensure alignment between the scope, its designed development and cost assumptions, in support of delivering the project within approved budgets.

Infrastructure B.C. recently released 25 recommendations from an independent expert review panel. Don’t worry. I’m going to give you details.

These experts are referred to as an independent peer-review panel. The members of the panel were Damian Joy, of Ernst and Young Orenda Corporate Finance Inc.; Michael Schur, of Gensler Architecture and Design Canada Inc.; and Tim Spiegel, of Spiegel Consulting Ltd.

The independent peer-review panel delivered its report to the project board on January 23, 2026. The panel provided 25 recommendations that the alliance should consider as they develop a comprehensive proposal that will be within budget, reduce duplication and meet the needs of patients for generations to come. This provides an opportunity to refresh plans to ensure the project meets the needs of the community and the provincial requirements.

I want to be very clear. This project will move forward. We look forward to working with Fraser Health and the project board on next steps for the project and consideration of the 25 recommendations from the independent expert review panel.

I urge the official opposition to bear in mind that any attempt to continue misusing the term “TBC” to mean “to be cancelled” would be engaging in disinformation, because I am here setting the record straight on the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment right now.

I have to add that last week a member of the opposition called this budget “a polished turd” — not my words — which is rich, coming from a party that gladly sold off the land for what was supposed to be the new Surrey hospital.

[4:05 p.m.]

This is what we mean when we invest in British Columbians. It’s for generations to come….

Interjections.

Rohini Arora: I reclaim my time, Madam Speaker.

Deputy Speaker: Continue, Member.

Rohini Arora: It’s for generations to come, not to score cheap political points. With costs as high as they are now, having that land for the Surrey hospital would have helped residents of Surrey today and would have saved a lot of taxpayer money — Surrey residents, whom some of the official opposition MLAs represent even today.

In Burnaby, our population is growing, and our schools must grow with it. Budget 2026 provides $634 million, investing into new funding for the K-to-12 system.

Look at our track record in Burnaby. Burnaby North Secondary, a $102 million investment, was completed in 2024, providing a seismically safe world-class learning environment for 1,800 students.

Cameron Elementary — we are investing $68 million for a new, expanded school with 770 seats set for 2028. Kitchener Elementary, 375 new student spaces, through innovative prefabricated additions, ready by 2026. Stride Avenue Community Elementary, $43 million, including an Indigenous learning community hub and 54 child care spaces, finishing this fall. These aren’t investments for political points. These are real schools where Burnaby children are learning today and will be learning tomorrow.

When the members opposite talk about spending out of control, I want to know which one you would have us cut. Which Burnaby students should lose their classroom to satisfy the opposition’s lust for austerity?

Let me remind everyone that their government closed 267 schools across B.C.

You can change the name, but the track record of your cuts doesn’t disappear. This government, our government, will never jeopardize the future of B.C.

Interjection.

Rohini Arora: Madam Speaker, they can laugh all they want. They can ridicule me all they want, but I hope that they can see that I’m deeply passionate about this work that I do.

Point of Order

Sheldon Clare: Point of order, Madam Speaker.

I believe the member characterized this, our government…. That is simply not true, and I think that that needs to be looked at very carefully. This party has not been in government for nearly 100 years.

Deputy Speaker: Member, this is a dispute amongst members, and it’s not the role of the Chair to litigate that, so we’ll continue with the speech from the member for Burnaby East.

Debate Continued

Rohini Arora: Burnaby is the intellectual heart of our province, and this budget proves it. We are making historic investments in our post-secondary institutions, because we know that a nation-building economy requires a skilled workforce.

Look at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby. We are investing $151.6 million towards the trades and technology complex. This isn’t just a building. It’s a factory for the future. It will add 1,200 student seats in modernized spaces, training the electricians, technicians and innovators who will build our homes and power our clean energy transition. This project alone is expected to generate over 1,100 jobs.

[4:10 p.m.]

We aren’t just building classrooms; we are building homes for students. We know that the rental market in Burnaby is tight. That is why we completed the Tall Timber Student Housing project at BCIT, providing 470 new, affordable spaces. By moving students into dedicated housing, we are taking the pressure off the local private rental market, making it easier for everyone in Burnaby to find a place to live.

At Simon Fraser University, we are celebrating the opening of the First Peoples gathering house. This is a $27 million project that provides a ceremonial and learning space for Indigenous students and the broader community. It is a tangible step toward reconciliation on our mountain. We have also renewed the SFU dining hall and expanded student housing with 383 new beds.

Well, I didn’t mention this just for the sake of mentioning it. I remember — it was September 21, 2016 — when John Horgan visited SFU. Universities across the province were advocating fiercely to be able to take out a mortgage so that they could build the student housing that they needed. From 2003 to 2017, members who belonged to this party that might have a different name refused to allow any university to get a mortgage, outside of UBC.

While they block, we build. If you expect a different outcome today from the same mindset with a new party name, you’re out of luck.

Let’s not forget the south campus infrastructure renewal. We’re providing $48 million to replace aging electrical and stormwater systems at BCIT. It’s not flashy, but it is the unseen infrastructure that ensures that our institutions can function for the next 50 years.

We’re also making sure Burnaby stays connected. The Broadway subway project, a $3 billion regional investment, is on track for 2027. This will revolutionize commutes for thousands of Burnabarians, reduce traffic on main roads and result in faster travel times between Burnaby and Vancouver.

We just saw the opening of stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge, which replaced the old Pattullo Bridge. This critical infrastructure will enhance driver safety and connectivity across the Fraser River. The Conservatives want to focus on the name of the bridge, even ridiculous calls to cancel it. Our government is focused on delivering important projects that British Columbians need most.

The members opposite also attacked our decision to modernize the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act, specifically raising the reporting threshold for capital projects from $50 million to $100 million.

Madam Speaker, $50 million in the year 2000 is not $50 million today. This is about common sense. By adjusting the threshold, we are reducing the administrative burden on the public service so that they can focus on building the projects rather than filling out redundant reports for small maintenance upgrades.

We’re not hiding projects. We are accounting for inflation and ensuring that this House focuses its scrutiny on the massive multi-billion-dollar nation-building projects that truly shape our province.

The opposition says that we have lost the plot on health care. Well, I will argue the data says otherwise. Since 2023, we’ve assisted 587,000 people to a family doctor or nurse practitioner. In 2025, we were attaching 4,200 people a week. In Burnaby, that means thousands of families who previously sat in walk-in clinics now have a primary care provider who knows their name and their history.

Budget 2026 adds $131 million for mental health and addictions. We’re expanding involuntary care beds for those with complex needs. We’re not just talking about the problem. We’re building the beds, and we’re hiring the staff.

Foundries are integral to youth mental health with wraparound support needs. The B.C. Liberal government started the Foundry. Anybody want to pay attention to that piece? As any responsible government would do, we don’t cancel or move away from good ideas. We work to expand on them. One in Coquitlam, and there’s one coming in Burnaby — very important systems of support for youth who need help. We can give credit where it is due, and I would hope that it can be reciprocated.

[4:15 p.m.]

If the members opposite wants to talk about the actual record, let me remind them that it was their party that promised that every British Columbian would have a family doctor by 2015. Has that happened? No. They left 900,000 people without one.

What have they achieved? They sold off land designated for hospitals, including the second hospital in Surrey. Since 2017, this government has invested record-high investment for health care. The cancelled second hospital in Surrey? We’re building it. It is planned to be completed by 2029.

Look around, my friends. We are sitting on this side, and I’m proud of each and every one of you. You are my constant reminder of what responsible government looks like.

We even implemented the largest middle-class tax cut. This government eliminated MSP premiums for every British Columbian, saving $1,800 per year for working families, while the Conservatives wanted to introduce American-style privatized health care, putting everyone at risk. We will never let that happen. Let me assure British Columbians. Health care is a human right, and you will not need to bring your credit card to your hospital visit under this NDP government.

Interjections.

Rohini Arora: I’d like to reclaim my time, Madam Speaker.

Deputy Speaker: Continue, Member.

The member has the floor.

Rohini Arora: The member opposite spent a great deal of time talking about PST reform. He called it cruel. Let’s talk about what is truly cruel. What is cruel is a vision for B.C. where a parent in Burnaby has to pay thousands of dollars a month for child care. Under our government, parents are now paying an average of $20 a day. That is a saving of nearly $1,000 every single month.

The members opposite want to talk about the cost of a ball of yarn, while we are putting $12,000 a year back into the pockets of young families. They want to talk about basic cable, while we have stabilized car insurance rates and provided a $400 renters tax credit.

They attacked our changes to the property tax deferment for seniors. They called it an attack. This program remains one of the most generous in Canada. It allows Burnaby seniors to stay in the homes they love, in the neighbourhoods they built. Adjusting the interest rate to reflect the global reality is about making sure the program stays sustainable so that it is there for the next generation of seniors too.

Why was this such an impassioned speech? It’s because when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and we were into the first term — this is before, of course, I was elected — that crisis hit health care workers so hard that six years later they are still trying to recover. Over the last eight years, we’ve built the foundations a strong province depends on.

My hope is that we, regardless of the side of the aisle we’re on, are willing to put British Columbians first. Finger-pointing is not what British Columbians care about. We know that. They want to know what we are collectively doing as their officials to ensure that their and their families’ needs are and will be met in the future.

I say this with love and respect for my colleagues on the other side. We get to co-create the direction we go in. This budget isn’t exciting. It’s preventative of significant cuts, it’s protective of the progress we’ve made, and it’s pace-setting to ensure that the projects we have coming along are done right.

This plan is serious work for serious times. We’ve focused on what matters most: protecting services, keeping taxes low for working families and strengthening B.C.’s finances for the long term. We are choosing to protect the people of British Columbia and, of course, the people in the beautiful constituency of Burnaby East. We are choosing to build the hospitals, the schools and the transit that will define our community for a generation.

Regardless of what side, if we are all collectively focused on British Columbians, we can get there, and we can support people when they need it most. While the opposition offers a vision of fear and austerity, we offer a vision of investment, resilience and a stronger, brighter future for every family in B.C. and, of course, Burnaby East.

[4:20 p.m.]

Kristina Loewen: This budget is brought to you by the NDP, and it reflects more fiscal mismanagement and deficits. The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour, and that is what we’re seeing in this budget.

I rise today to respond to Budget 2026, a budget that the government says is about sustainability, stability and security. But in Kelowna Centre and across the B.C. Interior, people are asking a different question: stable for whom, and secure for whom?

What I’m hearing from seniors and from families caring for their loved ones with disabilities, small business owners and working parents, from those struggling to stay housed, is not about security. It is strain. That’s what I’m hearing.

This Premier inherited a surplus of over $5 billion, and his party now predicts another record-breaking deficit. This budget has us hurtling towards a path of deep debt and interest payments that will take away from families, seniors and social programs, and have our great-grandchildren paying the price. And for what? Who can say that life is better in 2026? Do people have family doctors? Are wait times lower in our ERs? How about surgery wait times?

Youth unemployment is skyrocketing. Crime is out of control. Businesses are fleeing British Columbia because, under this government, margins just keep shrinking. On top of slim margins, small business owners are asked to put up with and pay for smashed windows, defecation and open drug use in front of their stores. Life in B.C. is becoming unbearable, and it’s showing in a mass exodus of our citizens and our businesses.

In the Interior, we face unique pressures. We are growing rapidly. People move to the Okanagan because they love the quality of life, the beauty and the promise of opportunity. But growth without infrastructure is not prosperity. Growth without health care access is not compassionate or humane. Growth without affordability is not security.

Kelowna has become one of the most expensive mid-sized cities in Canada, yet wages in B.C. have not kept pace. Rents remain high. Home ownership is out of reach for many young families, and seniors who thought they had planned responsibly are now relying on programs that are becoming less and less affordable.

This government has managed to gift Kelowna with a 6 percent rental vacancy rate, yet prices remain high. They bankrupted moms and pops who owned a condo for retirement purposes and simply created a glut of too small apartments that no one wants to live in.

This government likes to pride themselves on being courageous enough to try things, no matter how colossal the failure. This budget is, at best, a status quo of the past few years and, at worst, an absolute failure to British Columbians today and for generations to come that will pay for it.

Let me begin with seniors. For months, I have heard from seniors in Kelowna who feel invisible, people who’ve worked their entire lives, paid their taxes and built this province. Many are now relying on the property tax deferment program to remain in their homes.

This program was originally designed to provide relief, a bridge to stability. But changes that increased borrowing costs, particularly at rates above prime and compounded over time, fundamentally alter the nature of this program. When interest costs rise, the deferment stops being a lifeline and starts looking like a liability.

The question seniors are asking me is simple. Will this policy quietly push more of us out of our homes? This is not alarmism; this is math. At a time when seniors are facing rising grocery costs, higher insurance, higher utilities and stagnant fixed incomes, the last thing they need is increased borrowing costs on the very program designed to help them age in place.

Our caucus believes this budget is egregiously unfriendly towards seniors, and we will continue to call that out, because dignity in aging should not depend on your ability to absorb new interest penalties.

Let’s talk about persons with disabilities. Across British Columbia, individuals receiving disability assistance remain living well below the poverty line. Even with previous increases, the support does not match the real cost of living, particularly in communities like Kelowna. Rent alone can consume nearly all of one’s disability payment. That leaves nothing — nothing for transportation, food security, medical equipment or participation in community life.

[4:25 p.m.]

I am hearing from people with disabilities who feel completely forgotten by this government. When a government claims progress but leaves people unable to afford basic necessities, that is not meaningful reform. It is incrementalism in the face of urgency. We should be aiming to lift people out of poverty, not manage their survival within it. This budget fails to move the needle in a meaningful way.

In the Interior, we continue to struggle with access to health care. Kelowna General Hospital is a critical hub for the entire region, yet patients continue to face long emergency room waits, specialist shortages, family doctor scarcity and delays in surgeries. We have seniors waiting for long-term-care placement, families stretched thin, providing unpaid caregiving.

Cottonwoods — that was a campaign promise. The then Health Minister visited Kelowna in June of 2024, an election year, and made a beautiful announcement, something that this government does so well, only to put this project on an indefinite hold last week. The people of Kelowna will remember this as a failed campaign promise, and this is only one of six other long-term-care projects in B.C. also halted.

Rural communities surrounding Kelowna have even fewer services. This budget speaks broadly about system investment, but Interior residents are still asking: when will we see measurable improvements? When will recruitment and retention strategies translate into actual doctors in clinics and actual family doctors? When will seniors stop waiting months or even years for appropriate care placements? Announcements are not access. Funding lines are not outcomes. And Interior British Columbians deserve both.

Kelowna is at a crossroads. Compassion and accountability must go hand in hand. Downtown businesses are struggling. Residents feel unsafe in areas that they once enjoyed. Front-line responders are exhausted, and we continue to see the consequences of policies that prioritize decriminalization and safe supply without sufficient treatment capacity, recovery beds or judicial reform.

I spent the last two months in my community door-knocking, engaging with small business owners in Kelowna and discussing the devastating impact of crime in our downtown. On my walk-arounds, I encountered many locked doors and business owners actively installing buzzer systems, gates, shutters and bars in Kelowna, business owners who told me stories of criminals who smash a window and then turn around and say: “What are you going to do about it?” This is what is happening under this government.

The stories that I heard all held common threads. Kelowna is loved. It’s beautiful. The business owners are committed to the community and to their businesses, and many have been there two and three decades. But we are at a tipping point, a crossroads. Crime and open drug use, social disorder — it is overshadowing the beauty and the livability in our downtown, and it is not okay. It is overshadowing the ability to move and do business with reasonable ease.

Once vibrant businesses are now struggling financially. Once compassionate individuals are wondering how much more they can care. Once forward-thinking business groups are saying: “Enough is enough. We cannot do more without the support of our province.”

We need…. We are asking for…. We are demanding this government to provide a clear path to treatment, timely access to recovery services, housing that doesn’t lump everyone together without thought to individual needs and vulnerabilities, mental health supports that intervene early and often, judicial systems that protect communities.

This budget does not adequately recalibrate that balance. It continues spending but without structural reform, and spending without reform does not restore public confidence. Until we get there and get those things from our province, our downtowns, Kelowna included, will continue to languish.

[4:30 p.m.]

Small businesses in Kelowna are resilient, but resilience has limits. Insurance costs are high, commercial rents are high, labour shortages persist, and red tape continues. Yet this budget offers little in targeted relief for mid-size urban centres like ours. We need policies that allow small businesses to thrive, not just survive, because thriving local business is what funds public services.

British Columbia’s forestry sector is in crisis. As Peter Lister of the B.C. Truck Loggers Association recently said, he’s never seen it as bad in over 35 years, describing an industry on the edge of collapse. Yet this budget cuts $400 million from forestry.

In 2022, government stood alongside the Council of Forest Industries and promised 15,000 new forestry jobs. Instead, since 2022, we’ve lost 30,000 jobs. Royalty revenues have fallen from $1.8 billion in 2022 to just $500 million in ’26, a staggering decline in four years.

Sadly, what the loss of the forestry industry really translates to in a community are dads who lose their jobs, families losing the ability to care for themselves. In communities that are forestry-dependent, it often means an impossibility of selling or renting out your home. If there is no industry, who could move there? Who wants to? Families become stuck. Families become impoverished, leading sometimes to addiction and/or depression.

This is not speculation; this is happening. It’s happening in our northern communities where they depend on forestry, and they have less provincial resources like the things the other side of the House likes to speak about, Foundry and food banks. Our smallest British Columbians are often the ones who suffer the most, the children.

At the same time, this budget cuts $2 million from fire preparedness. From fire preparedness? I live in Kelowna. We cannot be cutting from this line. I almost lost my home in 2023 to the fires. Myself and my neighbours know what it’s like to be threatened by wildfire, and we believe in the importance of prevention. Spending money now on management and being proactively prepared will go much further and cost far less than having to rebuild homes and infrastructure that is lost.

Never mind that. It’s almost three years later, and this government still hasn’t cleared out the burned trees. Can you believe that? What is the holdup? Perhaps there should be a line in this budget that finishes this process so that we can get people back into nature, hiking trails and feeling mentally well again.

Instead of a clear, comprehensive strategy, workers and communities are getting endless reviews and endless uncertainty, and rural British Columbia is paying the price.

Mining is another cornerstone industry facing growing pressure. As Todd Stone of the Association for Mineral Exploration has warned, British Columbia is already one of the least cost-competitive jurisdictions in the world for mining and mineral exploration. Yet this budget adds costs while cutting $433,000 from mine health, safety and enforcement, despite multiple fatalities and miners trapped just last year, and reducing responsible mining and competitiveness funding by $1.6 million.

The warning signs are clear. Mineral claim applications are down 29 percent compared to the seven-year average, and the total area applied for or registered has fallen 60 percent.

Instead of strengthening incentives, like the mining exploration tax credit, to reflect mineral quality and competitiveness, government is narrowing eligibility. At a time when global demand for critical minerals is rising, British Columbians should be competing for investment, not driving it away. And might I remind this government that mining and forestry can both be huge drivers of our economy, providing both high-paying jobs and funding the many social programs that British Columbians rely on.

[4:35 p.m.]

This budget does not unlock our massive potential for revenue, and therefore it does not serve British Columbians well. If we unlocked our potential, perhaps we would not be projecting a deficit, or at least not one of these proportions. Perhaps we wouldn’t need to tax bookkeepers for doing the books of small businesses.

This budget projects significant deficits. British Columbians understand that deficits can be necessary during crises, but structural, ongoing deficits without a credible plan for long-term balance erode confidence.

Future generations will pay for decisions made today. If we are going to borrow, it should be tied to measurable reform, capital investment and structural improvements, not simply program expansion without accountability or merit. Taxpayers deserve transparency. They deserve performance indicators, and they deserve measurable results.

We should be protecting seniors from rising borrowing costs in essential programs. We should be raising disability supports to reflect actual living costs. We should be expanding long-term-care capacity in the Interior. We should be accelerating doctor recruitment with measurable targets — measurable targets.

We should be rebalancing public safety policy with treatment-first models. We should be supporting small business growth and ensuring fiscal discipline and long-term stability. This is not radical; this is responsible governance.

Behind every single line item is a person — a senior choosing between groceries and medication, a person with a disability skipping meals to afford rent, a caregiver burning out while waiting for respite, a business owner wondering if they can renew their lease, a downtown resident avoiding streets they once loved. Budgets are moral documents. They reveal priorities, and too many people in Kelowna feel they are not the priority in this document.

British Columbians are resilient. Kelowna is resilient. But resilience should not be exploited. It should be supported.

This budget misses the opportunity to meaningfully address affordability for seniors, lift persons with disabilities out of poverty, restore balance in community safety, grow our resource sector and allow it to flourish and deliver tangible improvements in Interior health care access.

Our caucus will continue to hold this government accountable respectfully, rigorously and persistently because British Columbians deserve better than announcements. They deserve better results.

Hon. Jennifer Whiteside: Before I begin my remarks, I just want to take a moment to reflect and express my deep grief at the unimaginable tragedy in Tumbler Ridge. We stand, of course, in solidarity with everyone affected in Tumbler Ridge. We will commit to supporting them through this profoundly difficult time.

As a former Minister of Education, I can understand that a tragedy of this scale really impacts the community in ways that defy understanding. It’s an act of violence that’s truly beyond comprehension. I know all of our thoughts across this entire chamber are with the community, those recovering, those whose lives have been changed forever.

It’s a privilege to rise in this House on the territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking People, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, to speak to my support for our budget.

Budget 2026 arrives in a period of global uncertainty and economic headwinds. Here in British Columbia, we’re investing in economic growth by unlocking job creation, investing in major projects, training a skilled workforce and supporting resource development.

Now, I want to situate this in some context for us because we could not have predicted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, of Russia’s attack on Ukraine — a war the Ukrainian people certainly didn’t ask for, now in its fourth year — the global instability and, of course, a completely unjust trade war launched by the U.S., which puts the economic stability of our province and our country at risk.

[4:40 p.m.]

It is in this context that Budget 2026 takes disciplined and thoughtful steps to protect the services that British Columbians count on while securing the future of our province through an unprecedented investment in skilled-trades training, in strategic investments to foster investment in our resource and tech sectors and to ensure that the public services that people rely on, like education and health care, remain strong.

Indeed, it is working people who are at the centre of our government’s work and at the centre of this budget. I’m talking about the people who keep our hospitals running, who build and maintain our communities, who teach our children and support our classrooms, who innovate, who care and who keep us safe.

We know that government services matter and that we all need strong communities and strong institutions. These are not optional, but they’re essential. That is the responsibility that this budget carries. This budget is about protecting the key services that people depend on, while making careful choices to manage spending. I would say that our priorities are clear: protecting core services like health care, education, child care and public safety.

Now, this includes $634 million in additional money over three years to strengthen our K-to-12 education system, with $167 million for the classroom enhancement fund, which will support the hiring of additional teachers, special education teachers, psychologists and counsellors, as well as adding $5 million for First Nations reciprocal tuition. Our government understands how critical it is for the health of our communities and our economy to grow and integrate our early learning and child care program.

I just want to take a moment to reflect on the extraordinary success of our work so far, because it has been substantial. Nearly 60,000 new spaces opened, and $3 billion back in the pockets of families through fee reduction programs. We’ve cut child care fees by an average of 50 percent, saving families, on average, about $7,200 a year. Since 2018, overall fees have dropped from an average of $47 a day to $19 a day.

I hear this from families in my community in New Westminster, mothers who tell me they wouldn’t be able to work or they would only be able to work part-time if they didn’t have our program to support them. Their lived experience was in fact tested in a recent report on our early learning and child care program that analyzed the economic impact of our investments and found increased labour force participation by women, particularly increased full-time employment for core-aged women, such that B.C.’s provincial labour supply increased by some 3,300 full-time-equivalent workers from 2019 to 2024.

This report further estimates that provincial GDP was $5.8 billion higher in 2024, measured in real 2024 dollar terms, than would have been the case without the expansion of early learning and child care services after 2019, of course reinforced by the national $10-a-day program. This is why our budget includes $330 million over three years to continue our historic investment in child care and our work to reduce fees for families.

We know that there is more work to do. We will ensure that we chart the next phase of development of the program so that it is here for families for generations to come. We know these investments strengthen families, and they strengthen our economy. We are taking the next steps to ensure that British Columbians have access to the care that they need when they need it.

Our budget invests $2.3 billion in new health care funding to ensure people can get the care that they need, whether it is surgical care, primary care, cancer care, PharmaCare or whatever other care or support they need.

There is $131 million to support mental health and addictions treatment. That has been a subject of much debate in this House, and appropriately so, but I will note that since 2017, we have added 829 new addiction treatment beds. We’ve vastly expanded youth mental health supports through opening 19 Foundry centres.

[4:45 p.m.]

We’ve expanded integrated child and youth teams, increased access to outpatient opioid agonist therapy and launched the first seamless substance use treatment, from detox to transitional housing, in the Road to Recovery program.

I want to shout out to Dr. Seonaid Nolan and Cheyenne Johnson from St. Paul’s Hospital, who were just recognized for their work in developing Road to Recovery in Vancouver Magazine, and, really, the entire teams at Providence Health Care, Vancouver Coastal and those in every health authority as we roll the Road to Recovery out across the province. There are so many health care workers on the front lines, saving lives every single day and building the Road to Recovery.

We are investing $102 million for in vitro fertilization and $653 million to expand public coverage of free medication for diabetes and enhanced coverage for hormone replacement therapy to treat menopausal symptoms. In addition, we are securing $447 million in federal funding to support complex acute health needs for seniors. We are also investing $185 million to strengthen seniors care.

I just want to take a moment here to reflect on the critical importance of this last funding point. It will ensure that 5,000 workers, who care for the most vulnerable seniors in residential long-term-care homes, are brought back into a collective agreement that is bargained by the Health Employers Association.

This change reverses the perverse impact of one of the most draconian and destructive laws brought in by the B.C. Liberals in the 2000s, which fragmented our long-term-care system. It resulted in the firing of thousands of workers across the province — mostly women, many racialized — as operators contracted out care and support work in long-term care.

Now, some of those workers were rehired with lower wages, and many were subjected to repeated firings as operators flipped contracts to further drive wages down. Workers were deprived of benefits and pensions for a generation. It was a shameful episode in the history of this province.

It resulted in a fragmented long-term-care system where a care aide at a health authority–operated site on one street would earn a family-supporting wage with benefits and a pension, but on the other street, at a private site, the care aide might earn as much as $7 an hour less, with few benefits and no pension.

If there is anyone who thinks that our health care workers don’t deserve a dignified retirement, I don’t know what to say to you about that. Our experience during this period was that caring for vulnerable seniors became a business, subject to commercial procurement rules.

The problems with the lack of sufficient and administrative oversight, frankly, became very apparent at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. I can tell you that I clearly remember the first death. I remember the resident at the Lynn Valley Care Centre who was the first to die. At that site, the care staff were employed by one contracted agency, and the support staff were employed by a different contracted agency. You can imagine the challenges that poses for communication.

This story was repeated across the long-term-care sector. It meant that implementing the provincial health officer’s order that staff could only work at one site was very difficult, because workers had been forced, over the course of this destruction of our long-term-care system, to take up jobs at multiple sites, just in order to put together one full-time wage.

The standards and terms of conditions of work that existed before mass privatization and contracting out, in fact, ensured the stability of care for frail seniors. That was taken apart by the previous government, and that stability had been lost. Bringing back a standard wage was in fact the only way to ensure the safety of seniors and workers.

[4:50 p.m.]

Now our government is taking the next step. We are taking the next step to ensure that care workers, who do the same work and make the same contributions to caring for seniors, have the same compensation and the same chance at a dignified retirement through a pension, because we understand that seniors care is not a business, and it should not be treated as such.

I am so proud and grateful for the efforts of so many workers who fought for a generation for this change and who understand that working conditions are caring conditions. This is not only the right thing to do. It is in the best interests of the clinical care and oversight and the administrative oversight that is fundamentally important in providing these care services to frail seniors.

Now, we know that collective social goods like access to quality health care and education are key economic drivers. On the economic front, we are laser-focused on ensuring that we can leverage the strength of B.C.’s resources and people to grow our economy and diversify our markets.

I’ll just give you one example of this. Mining and mineral revenue is forecast to increase by 32.6 percent in ’26-27 and 28.2 percent in each of the next two years.

You may have heard that the New Ingerbelle expansion at Copper Mountain mine near Princeton has received its permits. That extends the operation of that mine by 12 years, providing 800 good, family-supporting jobs for workers in that region.

That is the third major mine permit approval so far this year — and we are just past mid-February — and the sixth approval in the last 12 or so months, bringing jobs and prosperity to our province.

We’re making investments to grow B.C.’s economy and to create good-paying jobs. We’re setting up a $400 million strategic investment fund to ensure that we’re ready for investment in major projects in our province, in partnership with the federal government.

We’re investing more than $40 million to speed up permitting and boost capacity in the natural resource and tourism sectors. We’ve introduced a 15 percent tax credit for manufacturing businesses who invest in buildings and equipment in B.C. And we are growing the economy by helping people train for in-demand jobs.

Budget 2026 invests $283 million over the next three years through our Look West strategy. This includes $241 million for SkilledTradesBC, $30 million for the integrated marketplace initiative and the B.C. manufacturing jobs fund, and $12 million to enhance the employer training grant.

In ’24-25, nearly 17,000 people registered as apprentices, bringing the total number of apprentices in B.C. to nearly 50,000, the highest in our province’s history. Now, apprentices really are foundational to the economy that we’re building, because ensuring that workers have the education and experience they need to work safely and with expertise is just a simple necessity. That’s what apprenticeship training does. It ensures good-paying jobs, safe work environments and a high-quality product at the end.

B.C. is working with SkilledTradesBC, B.C. Building Trades, post-secondary institutions and industry partners to expand access, stabilize the skilled-trades system, reduce wait-lists and implement skilled-trades certification, which will help support mobility and create a more inclusive workforce.

We need that workforce. We need those workers, because we have the most ambitious capital plan this province has ever seen. This, too, is about investing in people and investing in our communities.

Budget 2026 builds on B.C.’s long-term infrastructure plan, investing $37.7 billion over three years to deliver the schools, the hospitals, the housing and the transportation infrastructure that our communities need — projects that will help create 130,000 jobs over the next three years.

[4:55 p.m.]

I can tell you, I see how we’re building our province every day in my own community in New Westminster. The new stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge opened a couple of weeks ago. It’s a beautiful, modern, safe crossing that replaces the Pattullo Bridge.

I just have to stop for a moment to thank my colleague the member for Surrey City Centre for such an eloquent elegy this morning to the Pattullo Bridge. It’s been really heartwarming to see the whole community turn out to take a last walk across the bridge and say goodbye, because that bridge certainly served us well over its 89-year life.

I’ll tell you. When I look at the new bridge, I see the ironworkers, the surveyors, the carpenters, the electricians, the labourers, the engineers, all of the workers who brought this bridge to life in sometimes miserable weather under difficult circumstances. But listen, this project created 931 jobs, including 864 jobs for B.C. residents. That workforce was 93 percent local, and that is an important achievement.

Likewise, the new tower at Royal Columbian Hospital brings a major expansion of acute care beds, an expanded ER, state-of-the-art medical technology to improve the care environment for both patients and health care workers. Now, Royal Columbian Hospital is my community hospital. It’s where I was born. It’s where my family members have been cared for and died. It is a truly special place.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to all of the staff at the hospital, who do extraordinary work together as a team, from the care staff to the support staff, to take care of people in our community and across our province.

And to the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation, 1,000 thank-yous for the work that you do, your steadfast advocacy for public health care and for our community.

From the rebuild of Skwo:wech Elementary to the 525-seat expansion at Queen Elizabeth School and the new downtown elementary school that we’ll be, hopefully, breaking ground on very soon, we have made such significant investments in places for our children to learn.

On housing, we know that New Westminster is, in fact, the densest community in the province, I think, next to downtown Vancouver. We are growing at an unprecedented rate in Metro Vancouver. We have made the investments that are necessary for people to have places to live in our community.

We’ve built a new integrated student housing and academic building, in partnership with Douglas College, which adds 368 student beds at 8th and Royal. We’ve built 52 supportive and affordable homes in New Westminster. Those will be delivered very soon. On Marine Way, we have a project in collaboration with Aunt Leah’s to provide housing focusing on youth, particularly young mothers, leaving care. We’re very excited about this opportunity.

We’ve built 66 new, affordable homes in downtown New Westminster. In all, we’ve delivered over 630 units in my community. We know that there’s more to do. Of course there’s more to do. But I will tell you, as well, in a city that has a higher-than-average percent of renters than in Metro Vancouver, 45.3 in New West compared to 37.8 in Metro Van, it matters.

It matters a lot to everyday people that our government’s renters tax credit is estimated to return $232 million to renters in B.C. in ’26-27, and it matters that our work on housing is helping to bend the curve on rental costs and that in 2025, rent declined by over 16 percent in my community. Those are measures that help people in these times.

Investing in infrastructure and skills, of course, is only part of the story. Protecting workers and ensuring fair workplaces is equally critical. We’ve worked to level the playing field. Demand for support through the employment standards branch has increased in recent years. In response, the province added staff, expanded investigation capacity, modernized intake systems and reduced administrative barriers.

The goal, of course, is timely resolution of disputes and better access to rights for workers and appropriate supports for employers with respect to their responsibilities under the act.

We brought in protections for temporary foreign workers, an important part of our provincial labour force. More importantly, these are people with families and communities who care for them. We must ensure that their contributions to our economy are recognized and their rights are protected.

[5:00 p.m.]

A fair economy must support those who face the greater barriers or risks. Workers dealing with domestic or intimate-partner violence, life-threatening illness or precarious immigration status deserve timely, responsive support. Employment laws are being modernized to ensure that workers have access to employment protections without fear of reprisal.

We are evaluating, right now, our current protections for app-based ride-hail and delivery workers to ensure that those regulations are doing what we intended to do and that they are providing meaningful and effective support for those workers.

Linking the annual minimum-wage increases to B.C.’s average inflation rate provides predictability for employers — which, we’ve heard, is very welcome and valuable — and stability for workers. B.C. has one of Canada’s highest minimum wages, and it helps low-wage earners to keep pace with the cost of living.

As workplaces evolve, of course, so must our labour laws. The continued review of the Labour Relations Code will help maintain stable labour relations and collective bargaining.

Folks will know that workplace safety is really close to my heart. Protecting workers on the job is key, also, to our economic success. I have to say that we lost 138 workers last year who died on the job. Many more workers were injured, some of whom sustained life-altering injuries.

I am grateful for the ongoing work that we are doing with WorkSafe and with partners in different industries, including employers, to work on improving conditions in our construction sector through the development of our crane safety framework. I’m grateful for the work and support of the health care sector in tackling, again, a sector where we see, really, unacceptably high injury rates.

I know also that we’re very thankful to all of our local first responders for the work that they do to protect our communities. I want to just take a moment to express my gratitude to the New Westminster and Coquitlam firefighters, paramedics and police. Of course, New Westminster is home to the Justice Institute, and this budget continues the increased support for the JI by providing 50 percent more funding for more police training seats.

I want to take just a moment to speak about New West in particular and the extraordinary work of our police department in New Westminster. When Stats Canada released their 2024 crime severity index last year, it showed that in New Westminster, crime severity had declined to its lowest level since 2018. The overall CSI for the city dropped by 16.9 percent, with a 23.3 percent reduction in violent crime severity and a 14.1 percent decrease in non-violent crime severity.

This is possible because of the work that our local police department does, supported by our community. We have an approach that really brings together all partners to support this work, including investments by the province of $187,000 in CSTEP and site funding, which supports the police with their enhanced downtown foot patrol, ensuring that they have a presence. We’ve invested in a situation table for youth. We know that it takes a village and that we need to work together to get these results.

Budget 2026 provides essential public services with new investments in education, health care and social supports, and it also introduces updated revenue measures and careful capital spending to maintain our long-term fiscal stability. It’s important to all of us, and it’s important for people in our communities.

In my community, a community I am so deeply honoured to represent in this place, I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here and speak about New Westminster. We live on the banks of the Fraser River, where Coast Salish Nations have gathered, worked and stewarded resources, made a living and built communities since time immemorial.

Now it’s a place where over 90,000 people live. We have an incredible array of organizations that lift our community up, from minor sports teams — thank you to all the coaches and the folks who are supporting our kids to play — to a thriving arts scene.

[5:05 p.m.]

Much gratitude to Arts New West for nurturing the talent and creativity in our community, and to the not-for-profits that do such heavy lifting to support people, like Elizabeth Fry, Family Place, Purpose, Dan’s Legacy, Aunt Leah’s, Senior Services Society, the Umbrella Multicultural Health society, New West Pride and many others who work to ensure that people do not fall through the cracks, that everyone feels included and has a place and that our city is vibrant and that our diversity is celebrated.

I want to take a moment to thank the work that our Chamber of Commerce does and that our local business improvement associations do. They do such incredible work advocating for the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our community, whether it’s an independent bookstore — New Westminster has three — a restaurant or a coffee shop or a specialty store. New Westminster truly has everything that we need.

I know how important it is, particularly these days, to lift up small businesses, to support small businesses, to buy local and to make sure that we are always highlighting the incredible services and products that our local small businesses provide.

These are extraordinary times we’re living in. Budget 2026 is, indeed, a budget built for serious times. It ensures that front-line services will be there for people. Around the world, households, businesses and governments are navigating such uncertainty and volatility.

This plan takes a disciplined approach to protecting what matters the most: health care, education and the core services British Columbians rely on.

It secures British Columbia’s future with investments in skills, major projects and a strong economy. It strengthens the foundation of a fair, safe and resilient system. And it positions our province for long-term economic security that really leverages the best that we have to offer.

It’s about our people and our resources. And we will always have the backs of British Columbians. In uncertain times, we choose a path that protects services, that stands up for British Columbians, that is grounded in stability and responsibility and where we care for what happens to people in our communities.

Dallas Brodie: I would like to begin by thanking God, our Creator, for the land on which we stand and for the incredible resources with which he has endowed this great province.

This budget is a complete fail. Of course, it is because it is rooted in socialism, wealth redistribution and handouts to special interest groups and useless ideological endeavours.

It’s a mockery to even call it a budget. It really should be called the diary of a shopping addict.

A budget should, by definition, contain the estimates of expenditures for the coming year and proposals for financing them. Well, we see the spending plan, but what is so sorely missing are the proposals for financing them.

The fundamental problem we have in B.C. is the tanking of our natural resources industries. Don’t tell me that new shared projects with Chiefs and councils are the ticket out of this problem. These projects do not solve the problem at all. These groups are not using their own money for these projects. They are using the money of other British Columbians, the other 99 percent, who are the taxpayers of this province. These are more big government projects.

We need new capital to come into this province, not money that comes yet again from the wallets of British Columbians. Herein lies the problem. Capital is not flocking to this province. In fact, it is fleeing due to nine years of socialism. Over-taxation, overregulation and never-ending consultations and erosion of private property rights have created a hostile environment for business. This is a problem that will take years to resolve, perhaps over a decade.

The Premier and the ministers can repeat the slogans as often as they want. But ask any British Columbian: are they better off today than they were five years ago? Are taxes any lower? Is disposable income any higher? Is health care more accessible?

[5:10 p.m.]

Is life getting better? Are you feeling optimistic, or are you thinking about moving to greener pastures? Has anything gotten better? I have been touring the province and speaking to hundreds of British Columbians, and what I hear from them is a resounding no.

The NDP, particularly under the current administration, is financially incompetent and understands nothing about wealth creation. Flagrant abuse and waste of taxpayers’ money never get checked or punished. The money flows regardless of whether the expenditure or program yields net benefits to British Columbians. The gravy train never stops.

They only care about wealth redistribution, regardless of how failed that approach has been proven throughout history. Every left-wing administration believes it can successfully implement socialist principles in a way that will finally work, but it never ever does. Take from Peter to pay Paul, and hope that Peter never runs out of money or stops working himself or simply leaves the country. This is a failed and miserable formula. The key is wealth creation, attracting job creators and getting government off the backs of the people.

We need to reject the politics of jealousy, resentment and class warfare, but this government has doubled down on high taxes, bloated bureaucracy, waste and useless, costly ideological programs. And what has all of this led to? A record deficit of $13.3 billion, a record debt of $154 billion, a record debt projection of $235.5 billion by 2028 and our debt-to-GDP ratio crossing the 30 percent threshold for the first time in over 40 years.

Let’s not forget that the last time it crossed this threshold, we had interest rates that were soaring to 25 percent in this province, so it wasn’t a surprise that it was happening at that time. That was due to the United States implementing policies under Paul Volcker and Ronald Reagan to correct the massive inflationary trend that was existing at that time. We are nowhere near that situation, yet here we are. Crossing this 30 percent threshold will undoubtedly lead to a fifth — fifth — consecutive credit downgrade for British Columbia.

These are not records that win medals. These are numbers that are crushing this province. It is worth pointing out, and this is shocking, that California, a state with seven times our population, is projecting a deficit of only $4 billion in Canadian dollars. This is outrageous. We are running a deficit that is 330 percent larger than that of California.

As a result of these appalling numbers, our total debt-servicing payments, interest alone — this isn’t any principal payments; this is just interest — are now the third-largest line item in the provincial budget.

The government is running out of rich people to tax, so now it goes on to this, raising the personal tax bracket for the lowest income people from 5.06 percent to 5.6 percent. They are expanding the PST, charging PST on things like shoe repairs, knitting wool, accounting and architectural expenses for small firms, bookkeeping. All of this will just increase the cost of living in B.C.

There was no more room to tax people anymore. There was no more room. We already taxed into oblivion. If this government actually took public finances seriously, maybe we could actually lower taxes rather than constantly burning British Columbia with higher costs from the government.

What this budget is completely missing is any effort at rooting out waste and inefficiencies. Why didn’t this government create an office along the lines of DOGE that we saw in the United States? Zero effort is put into finding waste and excesses. Why? In the coming days, I will be starting to highlight areas where there is massive waste in this province.

No one runs a household or a business like this. The government is being irresponsible with taxpayers’ money. For example, a quick review of some groups that are being funded…. Apparently, the government is funding numerous environmental groups that use that funding to work to shut down our resource extraction industries, the very industries that have supported this province in an incredible lifestyle over the last 100 years. These are the very policies that got us into the dire economic situation we are in.

I repeat. This budget is a failure, and it is a lost opportunity to do a serious course correction. No business, no family could run this way.

[5:15 p.m.]

It’s too bad that the Premier and his Finance Minister couldn’t find their spines and do the right thing.

As a final point, I am truly sorry to the people in my riding, the riding of Vancouver-Quilchena, who will once again be hit hard with an increase to the school tax, a tax that was so cynically imposed on the ridings of Vancouver-Quilchena and Vancouver–Point Grey by this Premier right after he got elected.

I am sorry to you because I know that this tax will hit you on your homes and you will receive absolutely nothing in return.

Darlene Rotchford: Good afternoon, everybody.

I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered here today on the traditional and unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking People, known as Songhees and xʷsepsəm Nations.

As well, I’m going to give a shout-out to my husband and my two little girls, because they watch this, because they just love hearing from all of us. It’s very exciting. They’re learning how, apparently, we’re supposed to do this, so we should all behave a bit more for the record.

I stand in strong support of Budget 2026 today. As the Parliamentary Secretary for Armed Forces Development and Veterans Affairs, I am especially proud to say that British Columbia is showing the country and the world what we can do right here at home to build our economy and protect our country at the same time.

When I was first elected as MLA of Esquimalt-Colwood and I had my conversations with our government, I said we should be highlighting the work we do, the amazing work we’re already doing, and show how we can build that work. So when I was privileged enough to have a change in my parliamentary secretary role, I was very excited at the work we can do, as well as getting to highlight all the work that the military families do to hold up our Canadian Armed Forces around the province.

These are financially challenging times. We are navigating global instability, ongoing inflammatory pressures, shifting trade relationships and direct economic threats that test our resilience as a province and a country. In moments like this, budgets are not accounting documents; they are statements of values. Budget 2026 makes careful choices to protect what matters most and secure British Columbia’s future.

Our priorities are clear. We are protecting core public services like health care and education. We are keeping British Columbia as one of the lowest-taxed provinces for working families. And we are reducing the deficit responsibly over time with discipline and clarity.

Over the last eight years, we have built the foundation a strong province depends on. We did so while guiding people and business through extraordinary challenges — a global pandemic, devastating floods and wildfires, supply chain disruptions, economic pressures and sovereignty threats by the United States under President Trump.

British Columbians have never backed down from a challenge. Canadians don’t back down from a challenge, and we will not start now. Global uncertainty is slowing growth everywhere. Commodity prices are volatile. Trade instability affects investment decisions. We must be disciplined.

To achieve our goals, we are taking three key steps.

First, we are making the public sector smaller and more efficient so that more dollars can reach our front-line workers.

Second, we are pacing infrastructure projects carefully, delivering them efficiently without driving up cost.

Third, we are generating new revenue while growing the economic and securing the long-term impact of major projects.

We continue to invest in British Columbia’s future. We are strengthening health care with $2.8 billion over three years. This includes $2.83 billion to increase capacity in the health care system, $131 million to support mental health and addiction treatment, $185 million to strengthen seniors care, $102 million for in vitro fertilization.

This one is especially near and dear to my heart. As someone who has heard my story, I wouldn’t have been able to start my family if we didn’t put investments in things like this, like many British Columbians across our province.

We have secured $442 million in federal funding to support services for seniors and $653 million to expand public coverage for free medication for diabetes and enhance hormone replacement therapy. That is money that will get put back in the pockets of our seniors by supporting them.

In my own community, this commitment is visible in the Western Communities long-term care project in Colwood. This new facility will be located on a five-acre site and accommodate 298 patients in a small home module, 14 private rooms per home, forming 28 neighbourhood beds. It will include an 18-bed hospice unit, 35 adult daycare spaces and 37 child care spaces — an innovative integration of services that reflects how communities actually live and support one another.

[5:20 p.m.]

If anyone, unfortunately, has ever had to go to a hospice, and you’ve seen that process play out for our seniors who don’t always get the privilege of aging at home and end up in hospital, being able to transition in your care is going to mean so much for those seniors and their families when they’re being cared for by the same people through their aging and into the last days of their lives. The province is investing $258 million, with construction expected to be completed in 2029. This is what protecting seniors looks like.

I’m going to take a moment here to talk about my time in health care. You’ve heard me say that I was a proud health care worker and that I still am a proud health care worker. I can’t do that, because I’ve been sitting here listening to some comments by the opposition saying: “We weren’t in government. Those were the Liberals.” Well, with all due respect, leopards do not change their spots. So we’re going to do a little education here for a moment.

I started in health care in 2007, and when I was successfully elected, I took my leave in 2023. That means I worked under four Premiers, two Liberal governments and two NDP governments. So I have some things to say.

The previous Leader of the Opposition has a lot of cojones to sit here and tell me that we have done nothing for health care. Under the Horgan government, we saw the biggest investment in home supports by bringing them back into government. We saw increased services in mental health and addiction.

I had worked under the Clark government and the Campbell government, where they cut services. People couldn’t get individual treatment. It was group therapy for everyone. It was an all-or-nothing model, and it didn’t work.

Again, they have the cojones to stand here and tell me that we have done nothing. The current Leader of the Opposition was a former B.C. Liberal and a staffer with the B.C. Liberal government. Again, he has the audacity to stand here and say: “Well, I was never in a Conservative government; we’re in the opposition.” Our MLA for Richmond Centre — a similar situation.

I could go on, because I have a long list of people who were under that government or under that umbrella before. Again, those spots didn’t change, and here we have our opposition. If anyone disagrees with me, go ahead and google it for yourself.

We are going to continue to make sure we’re investing in health care. That is my commitment, not to the people in the riding but to my colleagues, whom I stood beside when we begged and pleaded, under Liberal governments — again the spots didn’t turn their colours — for funding for our core services.

I held the hands of workers in detox who came for our services, and we said: “Unfortunately, those services aren’t there.” It was the reason I got involved in politics. It was the reason I chose to run with this government, and it is the reason, every day, I will show up here and support this government — to make sure the people of this province and our health care, again, is supported.

[Lorne Doerkson in the chair.]

In education, we are investing $634 million for K to 12 over three years, including $167 million for the classroom enhancement fund and funding for First Nations reciprocal tuition. We’re also investing $330 million over three years to expand child care spaces and reduce fees for families.

For families raising children and youth with disabilities, we are committing to $475 million, over three years, which will create more flexible, streamlined and equitable support systems, replacing the existing autism funding program with one that better reflects the diverse needs for children.

As a mother, I know how it’s important for families to feel supported rather than burdened by the systems that are difficult to navigate. I have one child in daycare, I have one with a disability, and I have another soon to go to daycare. These things are near and dear to my heart personally, for the people of my community and for people across the province.

Public safety also remains a priority. It was a priority for me when I was in my local government, for Esquimalt, and it’s just as important now here as the MLA for Esquimalt-Colwood. We’re investing $139 million over three years in justice and community safety, including funding for repeat violent offender initiatives, timely access to justice and targeted enforcement programs.

Our capital plan commits to $37.7 billion of infrastructure investments in schools, hospitals, transit, community and infrastructure. In Esquimalt-Colwood, that includes the Highway 1 bus-on-the-shoulder project between the McKenzie interchange and the Colwood exchange. This project will make transit faster and more reliable for commuters on south Vancouver Island.

It includes a new pedestrian and cyclist bridge at Craigflower Creek, improvements to the Galloping Goose Trail crossing, upgraded bus stops at Helmcken Road, realignment of Portage Road and ecological restoration work. The province is providing $68 million towards the $95 million in projects, with completion expected in 2027.

[5:25 p.m.]

Now on to our Look West strategy. In B.C., we understand the connection between economic strength and national security. A strong industrial base, a trained workforce and resilient communities are not abstract concepts. They are essential pillars of sovereignty.

This is why our Look West strategy matters so deeply. Look West leverages British Columbia’s strengths to position us as Canada’s economic engine. It advances national building projects, creates skilled jobs, strengthens supply chains and ensures we are not dependent on external forces for our prosperity or our security.

This is not theoretical for me. It is happening every day in my constituency of Esquimalt-Colwood. Esquimalt-Colwood is home to CFB Esquimalt and Canada’s Pacific fleet. It is home to Seaspan shipyards, a critical partner in Canada’s national shipbuilding strategy. It is home to H-e-c-a-t-e shipyard and has a proud tradition of skilled trades, marine engineering and defence innovation.

We are a working community, a trades community, a community where people build things that matter, that build my riding and that build the province. This is why I am particularly excited by the $241 million investment in the budget to strengthen B.C.’s trades-training system and double annual skilled trades in B.C. by 2028-2029.

When we build projects here with our skilled workers here, that’s how we’re going to keep them here for generations to come. As someone who jokes that they’re an import to B.C., I want to ensure that when my daughters choose whatever their career paths are, they can stay here in B.C.

This investment is about the training seats. It’s about ensuring that when ships are built at Seaspan, when maintenance is conducted at CFB Esquimalt, when infrastructure projects break ground across Vancouver Island, British Columbians are trained and ready for work.

Through $283 million, over three years, to support commitments made through Look West, we are investing in our people and our economic sovereignty. This includes $241 million to double funds to skilled trades, $30 million to support highly qualified professionals, and $12 million to enhance the employer training grant and to double apprenticeship seats.

Budget 2026 also invests $400 million for a new B.C. strategic investment to seize opportunities for collaboration with the federal government on major economic initiatives. More than $40 million will build on progress made in streamlining permitting, increasing capacity in our natural resource and tourism sector. In 2025-2026, $50 million will support the forestry sector as it adapts and strengthens.

We enter this period from a position of strength. Our economy remains resilient. Our debt-to-GDP ratio gives us room to respond when it matters most. That work is making a difference. Major job-creating projects are moving forward. B.C. already has 18 major projects underway, ranging from critical mineral mines to renewable energy developments. Nearly half of Canada’s major federal projects are happening here, far more than in any other province in this country.

With Look West, we set ambitious goals throughout the important sectors of our economy. Key sectors of the plan will be vital in strengthening our province. B.C.’s industrial maritime sector includes over 1,000 companies with capabilities in vessel construction, maintenance, repair and overhaul, refits, life extensions and marine innovation. That shows you the great work and the people we have in this province that are doing that work.

The sector contributes an estimated $7.2 billion output, $4 billion towards our GDP, and sustains over 34,250 jobs. When people ask why I am invested in working with the military, those numbers should say something. Through Look West, we have set a clear goal to secure 35 percent of all federal defence vessels contracted for B.C. in 2035. We know how to build ships. We’ve been doing it for a long time. We, again, just need to show them that we can do it.

We’re also growing our ship recycling industry, an effective and environmentally sound method of disposing of aging ships and reusing scrap metals. Ship recycling is an emerging business opportunity that can create good jobs and diversify local economies in coastal communities, many of which have been impacted by the recent forestry downturns.

The province is committed to fostering growth and developing the maritime sector through ongoing collaboration with First Nations and Indigenous Peoples. Shipbuilding and our robust maritime supply chain have been key to the sector’s growth and B.C.’s economy and prosperity for over 130 years. We’re continuing to find ways to improve this important sector.

[5:30 p.m.]

We’re making new funding available, through the province’s integrated marketplace platform, to help B.C. tech companies test renewable energy solutions from the maritime sector, including the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy. This funding will accelerate the sector’s transition to renewable energy as part of our Look West plan.

We are growing more important sectors through Look West, including expanding aerospace capacity to support defence procurement, growing our life science sectors in support of Canada’s biodefence capacity; investing in high-tech and emerging technologies, ensuring our world-class tech companies are at the front of the line to win military and civilian use contracts; continuing to build our trade and engineering sovereignty; looking into potential to use B.C.’s mass timber to build housing on military bases; and doubling exports throughout to non-U.S. markets.

Here in CFB Esquimalt, one of their procurement processes is actually looking at some of the modular homes that are built right here in B.C. Not only can they build their housing faster, but they can build it with B.C. timber.

All of this will be critical as we ensure people in business in B.C. benefit from good jobs and strong communities throughout this province. These strains position this province well to compete for national projects that benefit from a skilled workforce, strong industry clusters and global connectivity.

We’re backing a private sector bid to bring the new defence, security and resilience bank, DSRB, headquarters right here to Vancouver. If the bank chooses B.C., we will benefit from thousands of new, high-paying jobs in defence finance, research and international operations. British Columbians understand that national security and defence matter more now than ever. The DSRB will support industries central to our shared safety and economic strength, like defence, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and dual-use technologies.

Around the world, governments recognize that economic and national security are deeply linked. Supply chains, innovation and resilience all matter. The bank ensures that countries like Canada can reshape global solutions, not just respond to them.

Vancouver is Canada’s gateway to the Indo-Pacific, a region vital to global trade, security and stability. Our location offers unmatched connectivity across the Asia-Pacific, North America and beyond.

Vancouver also has a diverse, world-leading innovation ecosystem. We’re home to leading firms in cybersecurity, AI, clean tech and advanced manufacturing, and these sectors are all central to the bank’s mandate.

B.C. has established defence capacity, including operations like Seaspan, alongside innovators like Pyroltech, AbCellera and Sanctuary AI. This mix of industry and cutting-edge technology creates ideal conditions for defence, security and, again, dual-use innovation.

A little about my work at Seamless Canada. People here hear me talk all the time about military families, and one of the things I am privileged enough to sit on is a working group called Seamless Canada.

The Seamless Canada working group, and I can’t make this up, seamlessly looks at how we get a military family from coast to coast and make their posting season the easiest. Some of the things we work on in that committee to ensure that it happens are similar problems to what we have here in B.C. for everyday British Columbians: housing, access to doctors, education plans, child care.

If we want people to protect our country, to go out last minute and do what we need them to do, then we need to make sure all of the supports they need are here in British Columbia. I get to do that work on Seamless Canada.

There will be more to come on that, so stay tuned. But again, I can’t talk enough about our Canadian Armed Forces families and the great work they do to keep us safe.

We secure our future by investing in people, investing in skills, investing in infrastructure, protecting health care and education — things that British Columbians over and over again tell us are important — maintaining fiscal discipline and strengthening our industrial base and support for the Canadian Armed Forces community that contributes so much to my constituency, to our province.

Budget 2026 is serious work for serious times. It reflects restraint where necessary and investment where it matters most. It protects services. It keeps tax low for working families, like those in my riding of Esquimalt-Colwood. It strengthens B.C.’s finances for the long term. British Columbians expect us to govern responsibly, especially in uncertain times.

I won’t lie. If I were to not say…. I really hope I never hear we’re in unprecedented times in my lifetime again. I’m always cautiously an optimist — one thing we can agree on here today. This budget means that moment. We are making careful choices, we are protecting what matters most, and we are securing British Columbia’s future.

[5:35 p.m.]

Hon Chan: I would like to raise a point of order.

Deputy Speaker: Carry on.

Point of Order

Hon Chan: The member for Esquimalt-Colwood mentioned my name in her speech, and I quote: “Again has the audacity to sit here and say: ‘Well, I’m never in government or in the Conservative government.’”

I just want her to clarify it and maybe withdraw her comment, because I was a news anchor for the past 16 years. I was never allowed to, or could, join a political party or even donate to a political party for my entire life. So I’m not sure how I could be part of a government or in a government.

Darlene Rotchford: I said MLA Wat for Richmond Centre at the time, for point of clarification. If that was incorrect, though, I will remove my comment for the record for the member.

Deputy Speaker: Those are two separate ridings. Those ridings are not correct.

Hon Chan: That’s Richmond-Bridgeport, not Richmond Centre.

Deputy Speaker: Thanks for the clarity, Member.

Would you consider retracting, Member?

Darlene Rotchford: I said I absolutely would, for the record.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you.

Now for continued debate on the budget, Richmond Centre.

Debate Continued

Hon Chan: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

Before I begin my remarks on Budget 2026, I want to start with what British Columbians are hearing outside of this chamber — not from us, the opposition; not from the political parties but from journalists, economists, business leaders and stakeholders across the province. Sometimes the clearest picture of a budget is not found in government press release; it is found in the headlines.

Here are just a few of them. Globe and Mail: “The time bomb waiting to blow up B.C.’s budget.”

Times Colonist: “B.C. budget brings public service cuts, delay to Vancouver Island projects.”

CKNW: “B.C. was once praised for balanced budgets and is now running record deficits. What changed? Even the Gordon Campbell era reset may not be enough now.”

CityNews: “This fiscal year, B.C.’s deficit is expected to reach $13.3 billion, the highest it has ever been.”

Business in Vancouver: “Tax hikes and record debt leaves no winners in B.C. budget.”

Global News: “The entire room was somewhat shocked. This is one of the bleakest budgets I’ve seen in quite some time.”

RBC Economics: “B.C. Budget 2026 falls short on fiscal course correction among deficits.”

BIV: “Tuesday’s budget was to be the at-long-last Premier David Eby epiphany that the bus needed to apply the brakes before driving off the cliff, then U-turn to terra firma for the five million….”

Deputy Speaker: Member, you mentioned the Premier’s name. I would ask that you….

Hon Chan: Sorry. I will withdraw that. Sorry. Premier’s. I’m just quoting. That’s why.

Deputy Speaker: Please do not use names. The previous member also used a name, and I missed that. I would encourage all members to please refrain from using names.

Hon Chan: Sorry, hon. Speaker. Thank you.

Global News: “B.C.’s budget will impact the lives and finances of many seniors.”

Greater Vancouver Board of Trade: “Budget receives a grade D amidst runaway spending and rising debt.”

CFIB: “Break out the ibuprofen because Budget 2026 will be a huge headache for small businesses, not what’s needed when we are facing an entrepreneurial drought.”

ICBA: “The fiscal picture summarized by the Minister of Finance is sobering and speaks to poor management of the province’s public finances under the Premier since late 2022.”

I’ve used enough time to quote some of the unbiased comments from across the province. When economists, business leaders, labour organizations, media outlets and political observers across the spectrum all arrive at similar conclusions, we should pay attention. We as the Conservative Party of B.C. definitely are, but maybe not this NDP government, because they are often out of touch and seem to be disconnected from the real world on many occasions.

Despite all the warnings from this side of the House that this government is shortsighted and always slow to react…. We warned them for years, yet they remained stubbornly silent until last week when they delivered the worst budget ever, quoting the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, “while cutting service and taxing every British Columbian, yet still coming up with a $13.3 billion deficit.”

[5:40 p.m.]

The NDP member for Ladysmith-Oceanside questioned us in her speech this morning for criticizing the government. I quote: “Spending too much or not enough. That’s not a fiscal reality. This budget demonstrates the fiscal reality that we are in. It maintains a disciplined approach to financial stewardship.”

The NDP member for Burnaby East: “When the members opposite talk about spending out of control, I want to know which one you would have cut. This government, our government, will never jeopardize the future of B.C. They can laugh all they want.”

Let me remind these members. The Conservative Party has not been in government for near 100 years.

Secondly, let me also remind this member that the previous government, which I had nothing to do with, left the NDP with a huge surplus to start with.

Let me remind this member that even their own late Premier Horgan left them with a $5 billion surplus to begin with. Let me remind this member that they not only wasted that $5 billion surplus but also racked up another $13.3 billion deficit.

So she can be as passionate as she wants, but facts are facts. I hope this reminds her and her colleagues not to purposely mislead the public, or, if this is simply a mistake, please at least do some fact-checking.

Deputy Speaker: Member, we would encourage you not to suggest that the members of this Legislature are misleading anyone.

Hon Chan: Yeah.

So if this simply is a mistake, please do some fact-checking. Maybe they can ask their AI minister how to use ChatGPT to help them fact-check.

These members from the government seem to forget that it is they who created this mess in the first place and the record deficit and the debt during their nine years in power, and that was with $50 billion in surplus before they came into power.

Yes, we will continue to slam this government for wrecking the province’s finances and for forcing British Columbians to pay the price through cuts and high taxes because of your incompetence.

This government is a failure — period. What is worse, the members for the NDP government still live in this fantasy, thinking everything is fine, as we heard from the member for Ladysmith-Oceanside and the member for Burnaby East.

Guess what. The member for Kootenay-Monashee from the NDP side: “Contrary to what we have heard today, the sky is not falling.”

Well, the sky is not falling, but British Columbia is. Empty words and excuses cannot change the fact that this government is incompetent, inefficient, slow to react and short-sighted. Budget 2025 told a troubling story, and Budget 2026 tells an even more troubling one — a story of higher taxes, higher debt, higher deficit and lower confidence in British Columbia’s fiscal future.

This budget projects a deficit of $13.3 billion, the largest in provincial history. Let me repeat that. That fact alone should concern every single member of this House and, in fact, every British Columbian in the province.

The Business Council of British Columbia notes that the vast deficit will reach 2.9 percent of GDP, exceeding even the deficit during the COVID-19 emergency. Debt servicing costs are now one of the fastest-growing expenses in the provincial budget.

I will break it down for you. Under this NDP government, soon taxpayers in B.C. will pay $24 million a day just to service this government’s debt. At a time when there is a severe shortage of health care workers, that same amount could pay the salaries of 75 doctors every single day — not 75 doctors a year, 75 doctors a day.

Yet nobody in this government is taking responsibility or accountability for that. They continue to live their lives, continue with their everyday excuses, and it is generations of British Columbians who will be carrying this debt burden into a financial rabbit hole.

In many jurisdictions around the world, the Premier and the Minister of Finance would have to resign. In the private sector, these people would have been fired. Instead, every member on that side of the House continues to live their lives, continues with their propaganda. The Minister of Finance even said that this is a balanced budget in last week’s question period.

Despite that, there is no credible plan to return to balance. The current fiscal plan fails to stabilize the province’s finances. Debt servicing, as I mentioned, is the fastest-growing single line item in this year’s budget. No roadmap, no timeline, no fiscal anchor, just more borrowing and more promises that somehow it will just all work out.

Governments cannot borrow their way to prosperity forever. Eventually reality catches up, and, when it does, it is families, workers and businesses who will pay the price.

[5:45 p.m.]

This budget raises taxes on workers, on families, on seniors, on businesses and even on professional services that drive economic growth. For the first time in over two decades, the lowest personal income tax bracket has been increased, at a time when affordability is already one of the biggest challenges facing this province.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business warned that Budget 2026 would deepen what they call an entrepreneurial drought. Their message was clear. Higher taxes make it harder to grow business; harder to create jobs; harder to invest; and, ultimately, harder for governments to generate revenue. Economies grow when people are encouraged to invest, not discouraged.

Guess what. B.C. has seen only 6 percent growth in private sector employment since 2019, compared to a 40 percent increase in public sector employment. B.C. has also been losing around 50,000 to 70,000 people annually through out-migration to other provinces, and these are levels unseen since the mid-1970s and late 1990s. This government, on the one hand, is spending a large amount of money to attract talent and health care workers to work in our province, while on the other hand, pushing our own British Columbians to other jurisdictions and taxing British Columbians heavily.

Again, government members will continue their propaganda and say the budget protects health care, protects education, protects services. But in reality, it’s the opposite. Yes, spending continues to rise, but the outcomes are not improving. Health care wait times have become the longest in the history of B.C. Emergency rooms face staff shortages and have been closed more frequently than ever before in the history of B.C.

Infrastructure projects are delayed, and capital projects are being re-paced, which is often a polite way of saying delayed. Guess what. More delays also mean higher price tags for construction. Every single project in B.C. has been delayed and is over budget.

The Canadian Press reports delays to care homes, hospitals, cancer facilities and student housing. When capital projects are delayed, costs do not disappear. They grow. Inflation increases the cost, construction prices rise, and taxpayers ultimately pay more. This is not fiscal responsibility; this is fiscal postponement.

Oh, and how could you forget the $10 child care project, now on hold. They made a big promise on it, just like they did with the $1,000 grocery rebate. British Columbians believed them, yet this NDP government flip-flopped. And the promise? Gone.

How about autism? In the largest deficit in B.C. history, this government chose to reduce autism funding for 10,000 children — our children, our next generation. In 2022, this Premier promised kids with individual funding that that would be continuing past 2025. He broke the promise, just like many others. Where has all the money gone?

British Columbians are all scratching their heads, wondering why we have this NDP government and this Premier in B.C.

So on behalf of British Columbians, please do the honourable thing. Resign and be accountable.

We also heard concerns from the seniors advocate. They warned that delayed care capacity will put pressure on family caregivers. People who should be participating in the workforce may now instead be forced to leave employment to care for their loved ones. That has economic consequence. It has social consequence. It has human consequence. Budget decisions are not just numbers. They have a real-life impact on people.

The attacks on seniors do not stop here. They eliminated the PST exemption for service relating to clothing, footwear, even basic cable TV, toll-free phone, residential land-line telephone service. Even seniors staying at home now have to pay more.

In fact, this government also cut funding to senior services like Gaia Community Care and Wellness Society. This is an organization where the Premier himself, along with many of the NDP MLAs, attended their lunar new year luncheon with seniors this year, this time last year. They stood there. They made the promises. They told the seniors that their funding would continue, that they would support them. The room was full of applause, seniors were cheering, staff were hopeful, and then guess what? They cut their funding since last year.

Isn’t that shameful? To give false promises and false hope to seniors?

[5:50 p.m.]

This organization serves over 500 seniors in our communities in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond and across the region. These are vulnerable seniors who depend on their programs to stay healthy, stay active, stay connected.

Just one fall prevention program can save thousands of dollars in health care costs. One fall prevented can mean one or more hospital visits avoided, one or more surgeries avoided, one long-term-care placement avoided. Prevention saves money. But this government decided to cut seniors funding. How shameful is that?

The attacks on seniors continue. The property tax deferral program’s interest rate terms increase. Currently the program allows seniors to defer their tax at 2 percent below prime rate, with no compound interest. Guess what. Cash-poor seniors living in their own homes for the rest of their lives are being targeted by this government.

This Minister of Finance claims that seniors are taking advantage of that program — an excuse. Why are you charging our seniors prime plus 2 percent, with compound interest? If this minister’s claim is honest, then why are you charging prime plus 2 percent, instead of at prime? Again, NDP sneaky tactics are exposed.

The Independent Contractors and Business Association raises serious concerns about applying PST to engineering, agriculture and professional services. They call it a hidden construction tax, and they are right, because those costs do not disappear. They pass on into housing prices, into rent, into infrastructure projects. Ultimately, British Columbians pay. At a time when housing affordability is already in crisis, governments should be reducing barriers, not increasing them. This is another example of this NDP government saying one thing and doing the opposite.

The Business Council of B.C. also highlights troubling trends. Private sector employment has grown only 6 percent since 2019, compared to a 40 percent growth in public sector. I mentioned before that out-migration to other provinces is estimated at between 50,000 to 70,000 people annually. These are not normal numbers. These are troubling signs. People in business vote with their feet, and when they leave, it weakens our economy.

In fact, I will tell you a real-life story. A business in Richmond near my constituency office told me that even though they have been in business for over 30 years in Richmond and Burnaby and Vancouver, they’re now seriously considering closing down and moving out of B.C. with their family, because they do not see improvements in our province.

Under this NDP government, other than the members on the other side of the House, nobody in our province believes that our province is heading in the right direction, because Budget 2026 does little to reverse that trend.

Credit rating agencies already downgraded British Columbia multiple times under this NDP government and under this Premier. Since 2017, debt has more than doubled, to $157 billion in provincial debt. That is up 75 percent since this Premier took office. Stakeholders warn that further downgrades are possible.

That matters. Why? Lower credit ratings mean higher borrowing costs, and higher borrowing costs mean less money for our services and more money going to interest payments instead of health care, education and infrastructure. Debt-servicing does not build hospitals. It does not hire nurses. It does not reduce wait time. It only pays for past decisions by this NDP government.

This budget is not just a fiscal failure by this government. It also secretly eliminated the independent Merit Commissioner, the only safeguard against partisan hiring — a great day for NDP political friends and insiders. This office exists for one reason: to stop government from stacking the public service with political friends and insiders. The change was not mentioned in the budget speech, it was not highlighted in the lockup, and it was buried in the budget legislation.

They hired their friends at high pay last year and got caught by our party and the media. This year they cleared a path to reward their NDP friends and insiders, so that they can do it with ease, without oversight. That’s not transparency; that’s corruption.

Perhaps the most striking problem in this budget is that there’s no vision for growth. Budgets should be about vision, growth, opportunity and building a stronger future, but Budget 2026 is reactive, defensive and uncertain. It manages the problems they created, instead of solving them.

[5:55 p.m.]

When I was younger — I’m still young, hopefully — there was a time when British Columbia ran a balanced budget. There was a time when British Columbia had a surplus. There was a time when we built a fiscal cushion for future uncertainty. There was a time when government focused on economic competitiveness.

Today we’re moving in a totally opposite direction. Today — record deficit, record debt, rising taxes, slowing private sector growth, and the trajectory is not sustainable. Every dollar borrowed today must be repaid tomorrow by future taxpayers, by young people entering the workforce, by families who had no role in creating these deficits. Right now we’re asking the future British Columbians to shoulder increasing burdens.

Once again, this budget proves what the Conservatives have been saying is correct. We warned them last year that our province is in crisis. They said no. This minister, this Premier and that side of the House all said no. We warned them about the drug policy. We told them it was in crisis, that it’s not working and that it was hurting people. The minister and the Premier said no and claimed it would save lives. And guess what. It was their own Premier who finally admitted their experiment was a failure.

Site C. They said no to it. Our members have been supporting it for years. And now guess what. They are taking a victory lap on it.

We told them last year the EV mandate would not work. The minister said: “No, it works.” And guess what. Half a year later, they paused the mandate.

Last year we warned them that CleanBC and their target would not work. The minister and the Premier denied it. And guess what. They know we were correct, and now they admit it.

Now it’s the same story again. We told them the spending was not sustainable and that we are heading into a financial crisis. The Premier, the minister rejected that and said that everything was fine and they were creating jobs and that was all because of Donald Trump. And guess what. This year they are eating their own words.

We warned them about the hiring spree. We warned them that it’s not sustainable. Yet they kept hiring and hiring. But they were not hiring essential workers like nurses and doctors. They were hiring spin doctors. And now guess what. This year they want to fire some of them. Then why did they hire them in the first place?

Government should be getting more efficient. They even have an AI minister now. Yet they are less efficient. So whose problem is it? Obviously, the one in power for nine years, the NDP — nine years now. They should look in the mirror. If they do not have one, look into the water and see what they have done to British Columbia.

This was once a prosperous and wealthy province. Now 60,000 to 70,000 people are leaving every year. The economy is declining. Businesses are struggling. Health care wait times are insanely long. The Minister of Labour just mentioned in her speech that rent prices have gone down. Apparently their plan to lower rent is to push tens of thousands of young people out of the province every year.

In fact, they do not have a plan. Their plan is economic decline — mills close, businesses close, youth leaving B.C. Half of young people say they want to leave. That’s the result of nine years of NDP government. So either they’re making excuses all the time or they are just out of touch and incompetent. Maybe all of the above, but hopefully not. Or perhaps they are just power-hungry and want to stay in power, just like their friend Donald Trump — the same Premier who said “elbows up” while blocking Canada’s own infrastructure.

Remember this. Under this NDP government, spending has exploded over the last decades. Population density has increased. In theory, service should become more efficient because one facility can serve more people. With more spending and more population, we should see better results.

Instead we got worse service and massive deficit. There are only some explanations: efficiency, incompetence or corruption. I certainly hope it’s not the third one, but British Columbians should not be facing the first two reasons either.

We warned them last year that the deficits were not sustainable. We warned them the hiring spree would fail. I personally introduced legislation to cancel the EV mandate. And guess what. One year later, this minister now says they will eventually cancel it and follow the federal government, and they still have not done it yet. Imagine if every government decision in B.C. were one year faster. British Columbia would be far more successful. That is what a B.C. Conservative government would deliver.

[6:00 p.m.]

The Forests Minister keeps mentioning Trump, I guess because Donald Trump might be their best friend — definitely not ours — because Trump flip-flops and spreads information. That’s exactly what the government is doing: flip-flop and spread misinformation.

Look at the examples. I’ll give you examples: CleanBC, EV mandate, Site C. Now they claim they love Site C. But remember, they were the ones who opposed it. The project has reached a point of no return, so they were forced to continue. Now they’re celebrating it and talking about electrification — more flip-flop.

The Forests Minister talks about LNG and says we’re doing well with the projects under construction. But LNG did not start with them. It started with the previous government that planned it and developed the sector. Now they’re taking credit for it. This is the same NDP government that blocked mining and natural resource projects across our province, and now the minister is even saying LNG is among the cleanest in the world. We have been saying that for years.

Why are they always late, always shortsighted? When government is late, we lose, and it’s not the NDP that pays the price. It’s British Columbians who pay the price, through debt, lost jobs, lost opportunity.

Imagine if every single decision, every policy, every project could be made when the Conservatives first wanted them — one year earlier. Imagine if infrastructure, energy and economic decisions were made one year faster. Our province would be one year more advanced. Instead, under this NDP government, British Columbia is always one year late — at least one year late.

Many constituents told me they’re very much looking forward to the end of the NDP’s and the Premier’s era. Hopefully, by then, British Columbia will not be too damaged.

What should be done? I can’t just stand here criticizing. We need direction. British Columbia needs a credible plan, controlled spending growth, a path back to balanced budgets, policies that encourage private sector investment, tax competitiveness to attract jobs and capital, infrastructure delivered in a timely and efficient manner, fiscal transparency and accountability. Very important. Economic growth is not automatic. It requires confidence. Confidence requires stability, and stability requires responsible fiscal management.

In conclusion, Budget 2026 sends a very, very troubling message. A $1.1 billion income tax hike on working families, yet the NDP government is running a record deficit of $13.3 billion. Where has all the money gone?

A $500 million new tax hike on small business. Yet the NDP are running a record deficit of $13 billion. Where has all the money gone?

Hiked taxes on seniors, working families and small business, yet they’re still running a record deficit of $13.3 billion. Where has all the money gone?

A $5.6 billion surplus in 2022 to a record-breaking $13.3 billion deficit. Health care service has been getting worse. Where has all the money gone?

British Columbians deserve better. They deserve a government that manages finance responsibly, that encourages growth, that protects opportunity and that leaves future generations stronger, not weaker like now. We must remember that prosperity is not guaranteed. It is built through discipline, through vision, through responsible choices. Budget 2026 falls short of that responsibility. The Premier and the Minister of Finance should take accountability for their failure and resign.

Dana Lajeunesse: I rise today in strong defence of Budget 2026, a budget that protects services people rely on, invests in our future and takes responsible steps to strengthen the province’s long-term fiscal health.

At its core, this budget is about safeguarding what matters: health care, education, child care, safe communities and economic opportunity. It’s about ensuring that British Columbians, whether young families, seniors, workers or people in crisis, can count on their government to show up for them.

[6:05 p.m.]

Protecting and strengthening public education. This budget continues our commitment to an inclusive, high-quality education system. We’re investing $634 million in new funding for teachers and student services, recognizing that enrolment of students with inclusive learning needs continues to grow.

We are expanding the classroom enhancement fund by $167 million, ensuring more teachers, more specialist educators and more support for students in every district.

As our communities grow, we must ensure our schools grow with them. That’s why Budget 2026 provides $3.9 billion in capital funding for seismic upgrades and new schools, especially in the fastest-growing parts of the province. These investments are not optional; they are essential. They protect our kids, support our teachers and build the schools our communities will rely on for generations.

Supporting and stabilizing child care. Child care is a fundamental for families, for equity and for our economy. Budget 2026 strengthens the ChildCareBC system with a $330 million stabilization investment, ensuring that lower fees, new spaces and supports built over the past eight years are not lost as federal-provincial negotiations continue. During this stabilization period, the province is pausing enrolment on new providers into the operating funding model and the $10-a-day program, but families and providers currently in the program will see no changes.

Recognizing schools as community hubs, we are also expanding child care on school grounds. Budget 2026 dedicates $25 million — $5 million in capital funding and $20 million in operating funding — to create more before- and after-school spaces. Families need child care they can count on. This budget keeps that commitment.

Strengthening health care across the province. Budget 2026 invests $2.8 billion over three years to meet the growing demand for health services. Of that, $2.3 billion expands system capacity, hiring more doctors, nurses and health care workers and advancing new hospitals and health facilities across B.C.

We’re investing $131 million to expand intensive mental health and addictions treatment, including additional involuntary care spaces for those who need the highest level of support.

And for nearly 1,800 families every year, access to in vitro fertilization will now be publicly funded, providing new hope to those trying to start and grow new families.

Federal contributions will also support seniors care and expand free medications for diabetes and enhanced menopausal care.

This budget advances a health care system that is more accessible, more resilient and more responsive to the needs of British Columbians.

Supporting children and youth with disabilities. Budget 2026 dedicates $475 million to transform supports for children and youth with disabilities. Three major initiatives will deliver more equitable, flexible and family-centred care. The B.C. children and youth disability benefit will provide direct funding to about 12,000 families. The B.C. children and youth disability supplement will offer up to $6,000 per year for low-income and middle-income families. Community-based services will expand by 40 percent across the province, improving health care and behavioural supports.

This transformation recognizes what families have been telling us for years: they need a system that meets children where they’re at, not the other way around.

[6:10 p.m.]

Building safer communities. Public safety remains a top priority. That is why Budget 2026 invests $139 million to reduce repeat and violent offending and to strengthen access to justice. This includes $73 million to support the courts, sheriffs, Crown counsel, legal aid and the judiciary; $16 million for a new chronic property-offending intervention initiative, targeting vandalism and shoplifting hurting small businesses; $26 million to continue the repeat violent offending initiative, which is already reducing police interactions and speeding up charge approvals; $24 million for specialized investigative and enforcement programs to help address street disorder and connect individuals to needed services. The province continues working with federal partners to combat extortion and organized crime.

Building an economy that works for everyone. Budget 2026 helps position B.C. as the economic engine for Canada, creating more opportunities for skills training. We’re investing $283 million to open the door for more British Columbians to train for high-demand and skilled trades. This includes $241 million to double skilled trades funding over three years, enhancements to the employer training grant to help double apprenticeship seats by 2028, $30 million to expand specialized training in fields like engineering, geology, computer science, biology and aerospace.

Attracting investment and supporting natural resource industries. A new $400 million strategic investments special account will help B.C. seize opportunities in clean energy, forestry, mining and clean tech. Budget 2026 also invests in streamlining, permitting and supporting forestry communities through targeted investments and relief measures.

Supporting B.C. businesses. Budget 2026 introduces a temporary 15 percent refundable tax credit for manufacturing and processing investments, helping businesses modernize, innovate and become more productive. We’re extending tax credits for the shipbuilding and ship repair industry through 2027. We’re also beginning work on a potential patent box regime to support innovation and intellectual property development.

Updating the tax system responsibly. To maintain essential services while navigating global uncertainty, Budget 2026 introduces measured tax changes. The first personal income tax bracket increases modestly, resulting in about $76 more annually for the average taxpayer, offset for many by increases to the B.C. tax reduction credit. Tax bracket indexing is paused from 2027 to 2030.

Speculation and vacancy tax rates rise for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners. Additional school tax rates for high-value properties. The PST base expands to include several professional services, aligning B.C. with other provinces.

These decisions are not taken lightly. They’re taken to protect education and health care and other core services, without deep cuts.

[6:15 p.m.]

Investing in infrastructure. Budget 2026 includes nearly $38 billion in capital projects, ensuring B.C. continues building the schools, hospitals and transit systems we need. This includes 17 major hospitals and acute care facilities, major transit expansions like the Broadway subway and Surrey-Langley SkyTrain, 66 school upgrades or additions, 3,900 new post-secondary housing beds, the first new medical school in western Canada in almost 60 years.

To keep projects sustainable and affordable, the province is adjusting timelines on select long-term and infrastructure projects to manage cost pressures while maintaining quality and safety.

Increasing government efficiency. Budget 2026 continues the province’s commitment to responsible fiscal management. We’ve already reduced spending by $400 million through travel, hiring and operational efficiencies. Over the fiscal plan, we will save an additional $3.5 billion through expenditure management.

Finally, the public sector will be reduced by 15,000 FTEs, primarily through attrition and voluntary departures, while protecting critical front-line services in health, education and other essential areas.

In conclusion, Budget 2026 is responsible. It is forward-thinking, and, above all, it is centred on people. It protects what British Columbians value most, it invests where our province needs it most, and it lays the groundwork for a stronger and more resilient future.

I’m proud to stand today and defend this budget, proud of what it delivers, proud of the stability it provides and proud of the hope it offers for communities across this province.

Harman Bhangu: First and foremost, it is such a privilege and honour to speak in here and represent the constituents of Langley-Abbotsford.

On another note, I’d like to send my deepest condolences to the community of Tumbler Ridge. It had a deep impact on me personally. You know, at the end of the week, going home, I went back, I was able to hold my kids, and that actually…. I thought it would bring comfort, but it sent chills to my spine knowing that there are families out there that wouldn’t be able to have that same moment there.

Budgets tell stories. They tell us what a government values. They tell us who carries the load. They tell us whether the people writing them understand the lives of the people living under them.

This budget tells a clear story. A record $13.3 billion deficit. Three more years of double-digit deficits. Debt climbing to $183 billion, $50 billion added in the last two years. Interest payments nearing $4 billion annually and rising at almost 25 percent.

We are told this is steady management. Steady is not the word that comes to mind. I come from a working-class background. I have worked jobs where overtime mattered. I have made payroll when cash flow was tight. I’ve sat at the kitchen table with a stack of bills and asked myself: “What can wait?”

In the real world, when expenses outpace income year after year, you do not hold a press conference and call it steady. You get serious. You review every cost. You cut the waste. You find efficiencies. You focus on growing revenue the right way, through productivity and opportunity, not by quietly raising taxes. You correct course before the problem compounds.

[6:20 p.m.]

Here spending rises roughly $4 billion this year alone. Revenue growth barely clears 1 percent. Borrowing fills the gap.

[The Speaker in the chair.]

This is not a temporary bridge through uncertainty. This is a structural imbalance, and structural imbalance does not exist in spreadsheets. It shows up in how projects are planned, sequenced, delayed and re-prioritized. It shows up in infrastructure. It shows up in transportation. It shows up on Highway 1 in my riding. Those numbers alone do not tell the full story. Delivery does.

Let’s talk about the physical discipline and infrastructure. We hear record capital spending numbers, but numbers alone do not equal delivery. Highway 1 runs straight through Langley-Abbotsford. It is one of the most critical trade corridors in all of British Columbia, and after nearly a decade, we still cannot say it is fully widened or complete through the Fraser Valley.

Fees are announced. Timelines are revised. Costs are adjusted. Businesses depend on that corridor to get their products to market. Truckers depend on it. Farmers depend on it. Manufacturers depend on it. Entrepreneurs depend on predictable travel times.

When congestion adds 30 minutes to delivery, that is not an inconvenience. That is lost productivity. That is higher fuel consumption. That is missed opportunities, more costs to the consumers, which are British Columbians. Infrastructure spending without delivery discipline compounds deficits, and deficits compound debt. Borrowing billions demands certainty. Certainty is missing.

Let’s talk about planning and discipline. There is a difference between running a deficit during a downturn and building a fiscal model that assumes borrowing as routine. Borrowing to ride out a storm is one thing, building your whole house on credit is another. And when you borrow to fund projects that face delay after delay, cost escalations follow.

We see the pattern in every major infrastructure file across this province. The Pattullo Bridge replacement is complete. I congratulate the workers, but it opened late under this government. It did not open in the fall as suggested. It opened briefly on Christmas Eve. It was not fully operational until February. After rising costs, it delivers the same number of lanes as before. Taxpayers paid more, they waited longer, capacity did not expand.

The Massey Tunnel replacement remains uncertain. Costs continue to climb, permits are not finalized and environmental approvals remain unresolved. Yet borrowing assumptions continue. We are layering fiscal risk onto infrastructure uncertainty. That is not disciplined capital management. That is exposure. This province does not end in the Lower Mainland.

Let’s talk a little bit about rural British Columbia. When a hospital is 20 minutes away, that assumes the road is open. If a slide closes a highway, if winter conditions shut down a mountain pass, if a bridge requires repair, that 20 minutes could easily become an hour or more or longer. Sometimes it becomes inaccessible.

Infrastructure is health care in rural British Columbia. It can change the outcomes. Emergency access depends on corridor reliability, yet this budget does not accelerate meaningful redundancy on our critical rural routes. It does not prioritize resilience. It does not treat transportation as life-and-death infrastructure. It treats it as a capital line item. Health spending increases, but three-quarters reflects caseload pressure.

That remains the status quo. It does not eliminate emergency room backlogs. It does not solve the shortage of family doctors. It does not guarantee patients can reach care in winter conditions.

The Speaker: Noting the hour, Member.

Harman Bhangu: Due to the time, I reserve my place and move adjournment of the debate.

Harman Bhangu moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. Josie Osborne moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

The Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.

The House adjourned at 6:25 p.m.

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