B.C. Budget 2023: What the $4.2 billion deficit funds — and what it doesn’t
David Eby’s first budget as premier will run a $4.2 billion deficit to pay for the long-promised $400 renters’ rebate, provide free contraception, build new housing, and expand mental health and addiction services in B.C.
B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon, however, said the “measly” renters rebate isn’t enough to offset the highest rents in Canada. That, he said, should leave British Columbians asking: “Do you feel better off than you were six years ago?”
Small businesses and unions representing teachers and nurses were disappointed the 2023-24 budget didn’t do more to address staffing shortages plaguing those sectors. And B.C.’s seniors advocate said there wasn’t enough to support the province’s aging population.
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, who presented the budget Tuesday, said that despite an economic downturn on the horizon, the government is supporting people squeezed by inflation by boosting tax credits for low- and middle-income families and lifting the shelter rate for people on income and disability assistance.
