Northerners Facing Affordability Crunch says Horgan & James
From left, NDP leader John Horgan, finance spokesperson Carole James, and BCWF vice-president Jim Glaicar – photo 250 News
Prince George, B.C. – The provincial government may have passed its third consecutive balanced budget in February, but it came with consequences.
That was the message NDP leader John Horgan and the party’s finance spokesperson Carole James brought to Prince George this morning.
Horgan and James are on a post-budget tour of communities without NDP MLA’s.
According to Horgan, the consequences of that balanced budget are plentiful.
“Reductions in funding for school boards, I’m sure the school board here has told you there is no low-hanging fruit on the tree. In fact the tree was cut-down some years ago,” said Horgan.”Health care is declining, we see an increase in hallway medicine and we didn’t hear that in the budget speech, we only heard the land is strong.”
He added the government has “taken $700 million in new fees and taxes from regular people through ICBC increases, BC Hydro increases, MSP increases, and camping fee increases.”
And what’s even more insulting according to Horgan, is the Liberal government gave a tax break to the top 2% of wage earners.
“They gave back $235 million to the richest people in B.C. and that wasn’t in the press release when the budget was tabled.”
Horgan said the budget is always about choices and the BC Liberals decided to give a tax break to the “richest 2% of British Columbians” when they could have provided tax breaks for “middle class British Columbians.”
“If we’re all tightening our belts, which is what we hear in any budget speech, then we should all tighten our belts, not just middle income earners.”
Carole James chimed in the 6% increase in BC Hydro fees hits Northerners the hardest.
“The hydro costs are huge, you don’t have a choice of turning your heat off in the winter time,” said James. “Nobody expects government to fix everything for them yet they don’t expect government to make their life tougher.”
Comments
Okay, the government introduced a temporary surtax 2 years ago, that was to be removed if the budget balanced, but I agree, they could have kept it, as the top 2% probably won’t miss it, but that said, most of the top 2% are probably doctors, and now they’ll just be looking for more fee increases.
So, you’ve mentioned all the things that are underfunded, where would you cut spending to fund all these things, or, where would you increase taxation to pay for all of these things, or do you plan to run deficits and let my grandchildren pay for it – oh wait, I don’t have grandchildren – go ahead, pick that one.
But seriously, for once, quit pointing out the problems, without specifically saying how you would fix it, and don’t use the inefficiencies crap, because the kind of cash needed to fully fund all the wants of British Columbians can’t be funded with finding “inefficiencies”. You’re either going tax, cut, or borrow, which?
well said ski51!
I’m not defending the top 2%, as they make way more money than I do, but I don’t recall the NDP objecting to the temporary surtax in the first place. They seemed fine with the imposition of a temporary surtax, but now seem rather sanctimonious regarding it’s removal.
Ah yes, Horgan and James, two people who have spent their entire careers sucking at the taxpayer’s teat. If they don’t understand fiscal responsibility who possibly can?
Axman.. Why not list what bond has done for us… The only thing I see is she is in every photo op availiable.
She was horrible as education minister.. there I started the list for you.
Posted on Thursday, April 9, 2015 @ 3:38 PM by P Val
Axman.. Why not list what bond has done for us… The only thing I see is she is in every photo op availiable.
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That’s the problem with blinders, you only see what your handlers want you to see.
We get it. Any politician who doesn’t immediately bend over to your union’s demands is “horrible”.
P Val, please explain how Shirley Bond was horrible as education minister.
Was it because she wouldn’t kiss the a$$ of the perpetually whining BCTF?
Was it because tough decisions had to be made, decisions that pi$$ed of the perpetually whining BCTF?
Was it because she was aware that taxpayers had a limited ability to pay, in spite of the constant demands of the BCTF for more, more, more?
Was it because you are willing to believe everything that is spoon fed to you by the BCTF and Unions in general?
Or, was it something else??
Perhaps you could pop yourself off of your Union teat long enough to fill us in??
Since Shirley Bond became MLA
They are twinning the highway to Vancouver.
Prince George actually has a lot more doctors than before, and some family physicians are even taking new patients.
The Cougars made the playoffs.
Highway 97 has been upgraded to Class A
Pat Bell left (good or bad depends on point of view)
We got internet out at Ness Lake
We got the Winter Games (good or bad depends on point of view)
My father said “You should never vote out the incumbent party. They all have to pay someone off to win, and if you vote them out, the next guys will have their own set of bills to pay with tax money. You’re going to get screwed, all you really get to choose, is whose going to do it.”
I know that it’s because of shirley bond the Cougars made the playoffs.. Awesome laugh there..lol
May have more doctors but our hospitals hallways are filled with patients waiting for rooms and the liberals cut back on operating time for surgeons yet again.
Winter games..I am sure they have cooked the books to make it a money maker for pg somehow
Easy hart guy..cutting the education budget..
Not sure which Internet company bond works for but don’t recall her hanging off any pole stringing cable :)
P Val, speaking of education, perhaps you should ask Carole James about the concerns that she had about the sweetheart deal given to the BCTF by the NDP, back when she was a trustee with her local school board!
Remember that sweetheart deal, the one that Glen Clark’s NDP Government gave to the BCTF, without any consultation with school boards, taxpayers or the opposition Liberals. Remember?
Remember that sweetheart deal, the one that the incoming NDP Government of Ujjal Dosanjh criticized as unaffordable?
Remembe0? Didn’t think so! Must be your selective memory!!
Oops, Remember!!
Is carol James holding a seat in bc …no..who cares what she said so many years ago.. Don’t you remember crusty Clark as education minister ripping up the teachers contract illegally..then losing millions when proven in court she did it illegally… What about the liberals spending over 6 million paying the basi court costs etc..
Might want to dig a little deeper P Val- I think James survived all the dipper knives in her back and current uses up air in the house as a member for Victoria Beacon Hill.
Whet stones are out and edges being fine tuned for Horgan shortly after next election
P Val, so let me get this straight……we are supposed to care about and remember the things that seem important to you, but we are to forget about or no longer care about what’s important to us??
Wow, the world does revolve around you!!
Thnx sparrow.. Thought she was sent packing..still carries no weight
No hart guy.. You brought up education and I talked about it as well.. Why not talk about the selling or renting out of bc rail that your awesome liberals promised they wouldn’t do.. Seems you love to forget all the negative things the liberals have done to us by deflecting and bringing up the few good/mediocre things they have done.. Clark spending $450,000 for one year on our credit card..even twice that of Campbell. Guess that’s fine with you.. Charging seniors on set income more and more for prescriptions and Medicare.. Must be fine with you as well.. You must love walking through the hospital seeing all the patients on beds waiting fira. Room.. Must bring you so much joy.. If the liberals do it it must be frikin awesome..
“The hydro costs are huge, you don’t have a choice of turning your heat off in the winter time,” said James.” C’mon Carole, get with the times. Most people heat their homes with natural gas in this century. The NDP sure make it hard to respect their views when they are mostly long on criticism & short on solutions.
Detoe44 yes most do, but the retired ones still living in the homes they raised their families in are mostly electric heat.
Detoe44 .. many rural areas without natural gas service … lots of mainstream communities on the island as well as the southern interior and the north west … you should take a look a the natural gas service maps for BC at the Fortis website … I know I was surprised
P Val, YOU brought up Shirley Bond, you made the statement that she was horrible as education minister and that she cut the education budget!
Why is it that you don’t want to talk about how the Glen Clark NDP Government sold us down the river with their sweetheart deal, a deal that Ujjah Dosanjh, the next NDP Premier called unaffordable, a deal that Carole James, a former school board trustee and Premier also condemned, a deal that school boards and taxpayers across the province condemned!
Why don’t you want to talk about that??
A fellow on the news tonight (didn’t catch the name) said… “politics is show business for ugly people”. ;-D
wow Detoe44 yeah so if your hydro bill does not go up in the winter please tell us your secret! I don’t know about you but I have to plug my car in when it gets cold and I cook more warm meals you know less bbqs also it gets dark at like 3:30 in the afternoon I have to turn on lights or sit in the dark! so yeah that’s not natural gas. but didn’t natural gas prices go up?
How about a premier that campaigns on family first.. And what does she do to families..raises every tax and fee on them.
Also campaigning on how LNG will make us stinkin rich..so far it just stinks.. Btw. What I mentioned is the here and now..not something that happened long ago..
P Val, you state “Btw. What I mentioned is the here and now..not something that happened a long time ago?
And yet you whine about the BCRail sale?
And yet you whine about Shirley Bond’s performance as Education Minister?
P Val, your inconsistency is humorous! Must be that selective memory of yours, haha!
PVal & anotherside, I wrote “Most people heat their homes with natural gas”. I am at an age now where I know a lot of retired people & I cannot think of one who lives in a home with electric heat. Yes there are some out there (in northern BC) that do have electricity as a main heat source but not a very large percentage. As for rural areas that do not have gas supplied most that I know use wood heat & a very small number that use oil heated furnaces. Both of you as well as Boudicca totally missed my point that NDP leadership, post Glen Clark, has done not much more than criticize anything that the current Government does without adding any substantial alternative.
How would the NDP fund our health care system at a level that we demand? How would the NDP fund education in the face of ever increasing wage & financial demands? What is the NDP plan to attract business & investment to BC? I shudder to think what state BC would be in had the NDP been in power in the last 7 years. Believe me, I am not a huge fan of the Liberal Party & some of their policies but at least they have a vision of what they want & where they want to go. Good Lord, the best leader the NDP had since Dave Barrett quit the party in disgust over the infighting & lack of leadership/direction.
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