Budget comes at cost to social programs: CCPA
Posted February 17, 2015 6:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – In the context of the current economic climate, many are praising the province’s ability to balance the books.
But groups like the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives aren’t quite as enthusiastic, claiming the government is doing that at a social cost.
If the budget is balanced but social services have big funding gaps, Seth Klein with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives suggests that isn’t much of an accomplishment.
“It’s all about bragging rights for balancing the budget,” Klein says. “But there’s no virtue in balancing the budget when you have all these unmet social needs.”
Klein also questions the government’s move to end higher taxes for the richest two percent while offering no increases to welfare payments — something a bipartisan committee agreed should be looked at.
“It speaks to some messed up priorities,” Klein says. “Welfare rates themselves, which haven’t been increased in eight years, which even the bipartisan finance committee needed to revisit, they haven’t touched.”
Klein did acknowledge the province’s move to end clawbacks for single parents on income assistance as a positive social move.
BC’s representative for children and youth says the province is balancing its budget on the backs of families. The only significant program for families is a plan to stop using child-support payments to claw back income assistance. Children’s representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond says that’s good, but it’s not enough.
“A balanced budget today is the product of British Columbia families since 2008 facing cutbacks and services, fewer people at the front lines of our education system, our health care system, our child welfare system. Families have really paid the price,” she explains.
Turpel-Lafond adds the budget contains nothing “meaningful and deep” for families.
Public education might also take a hit, according to the BC School Trustees Association who says school districts stand to lose $29 million next year for administrative services
“It is unacceptable that the dollars saved by school districts will not be retained to address needs in our schools,” said BCSTA president Teresa Rezansoff. “We understand the importance of cost saving measures such as shared services, but they must not be used to take money away from Boards of Education.”
The union representing BC’s nurses says the province’s latest budget won’t be enough to maintain current health-care service. The Liberal government tabled a balanced budget that constrains spending, including health care, with growth kept below three per cent. BC Nurses’ Union president Gayle Duteil says that won’t be enough.
“We have to hire more nurses, that is just a fact. The Conference Board of Canada says that 4.8 per cent increase is needed to sustain funding and right now British Columbia has the lowest number of registered nurses per capita across the country.”
Duteil also questions whether the budget will provide enough funding for seniors and community care.
