Payroll costs across the provincial government sector are poised to increase sharply.
bc debt
Debt as a share of the provincial economy could reach up to 19.8 per cent this year.
The provincial budget projected that net debt would grow to $48.9 billion in 2020/21.
Ontario’s debt grew by 107 per cent over 10 years.
Rhetoric from the campaign trail stressed increased spending and higher taxes.
Ontario has seen its share of total provincial net debt rise to 51 per cent.
Budget contained no plan to offset the dramatic increase in business taxes associated with reintroducing the Provincial Sales Tax a few years ago.
The BC Liberals and particularly Premier Christy Clark deserve the praise theyre receiving for their surprise electoral victory. After all, the Liberals reversed a double-digit deficit in the polls and ended up securing a majority government. This moment of jubilation for the Liberals and their supporters will be short-lived however, as the reality of governing in difficult times takes hold. The litmus test for the success of this government, which they themselves established, is the success of the economy and in particular, jobs.