| BC Budget ignores job crisis |
| Canada News | |
| Wednesday, 03 March 2010 19:48 | |
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With no help for children living in poverty, reductions to student aid and continued layoffs and cutbacks in public services, Colin Hansen’s budget fails to address the critical issues facing British Columbians. “The success of the Olympics cannot hide the fact BC is still in the grips of a deep economic recession,” says B.C. Federation of Labour President, Jim Sinclair. “BC is still losing jobs, 4,200 full-time jobs in January alone, yet there is nothing in this budget that will protect or create jobs. Worse still, budget cuts to public services and chronic underfunding will lead to even more jobs losses and delay our economic recovery.” “We should be putting the same energy, imagination and investment that made the Olympics a success into making our province better. That’s what British Columbians wanted to hear today. Instead, the government is abdicating its responsibility to look after people in tough times. This government continues to cling to a belief that reckless tax slashing from the past will somehow provide economic benefits that have so far failed to materialize.” “The government claims to be protecting core services in health care and education, but you only need to talk with teachers and health care workers to discover that this is simply not true,” Sinclair added. “The modest funding increases announced today are nowhere near sufficient to keep up with increased demand or undo the damage caused by past Liberal underfunding.” “Next year, post-secondary students will pay $288 million more in tuition fees than corporations pay in income taxes. This is not how we build our economy,” says Sinclair. The budget also contains no strategy to create manufacturing jobs or rebuild the forestry sector which Liberal policies have decimated. “The Liberal government continues to ignore the plight of the lowest paid workers in our province,” Sinclair says. “Although the vast majority of British Columbians support raising the minimum wage, the government will continue the eight year freeze at $8 an hour, the lowest minimum wage in the country, and a national embarrassment.”
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