Edelman Canada shares a summary of British Columbia's NDP Government's first Throne Speech & Budget in 16 years. To learn more about Edelman Canada, please visit www.edelman.ca.
Edelman Public Affairs - BC Throne Speech & Budget
1. BC THRONE
SPEECH & BUDGET
SEPTEMBER 2017 UPDATE
The second sitting of BC’s 41st
Parliament resumed right where it left
off—in dramatic fashion.
Just before members were scheduled to convene in the Legislature for
the first NDP Throne Speech in more than 16 years, BC Liberal MLA Darryl
Plecas officially took the role of Speaker after assuring the BC Liberal
Caucus and interim leader Rich Coleman—less than 24 hours prior—that
he wouldn’t.
His move gifts the NDP Government a 44 to 41 vote edge (with
support from the BC Greens) over the opposition BC Liberals who
are already down one seat after Christy Clark’s resignation, and
provides greater stability in pushing through major legislation like
proportional representation.
THE SPEAKER
Hours after he was acclaimed Speaker, his Abbotsford South Riding
Association formally requested to revoke Plecas’ membership. One day
later, the BC Liberal Party Executive approved their application.
THE LANDSCAPE
BC’s 41st
Parliament resumed on September 8 with a Throne Speech
full of promises made by both the NDP and Green parties in the spring
election, which, through the now infamous NDP-Green Accord, helped
to seal the role of Premier for John Horgan in the whirlwind fallout of
the Spring Election.
Under the Accord, several high-profile bills must be introduced in the fall
legislative session, including bans on both corporate and union political
donations, and a referendum on proportional representation. Both themes
featured prominently in Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon’s 22-minute
Throne Speech, as well as Finance Minister Carole James’ Budget 2017 Update.
Notably absent from both, however, were clear directions on
implementing $10-a-day daycare, the $400-a-year renters’ rebate,
or next steps for Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion
Project, which begins construction this month.
Over the past eight weeks, Horgan and his cabinet have delivered
on a flurry of promises-turned-priorities by effectively utilizing the
government’s executive branch to issue audits, independent reviews and
policy reversals on major BC Liberal-led files including Site C, the George
Massey Tunnel, ICBC and the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges.
While their supporters have welcomed the almost daily good news
press releases, the legislature has resumed, the opposition is hungry,
and the Premier has just 37 sitting days to meet the requirements of his
agreement with Andrew Weaver before parliament breaks for Christmas.
Edelman Vancouver | September 2017 | 1400 – 1500 West Georgia St | Vancouver, BC V6G 2Z6 | 604 623 3007
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Special Advisor, Public Affairs, Edelman Canada
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General Manager, Edelman Vancouver
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“The road ahead won’t be easy. It will take
time for the better choices this government
is making to take hold.”
– Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon,
September 2017 Throne Speech
THE SPEECH
Premier John Horgan’s first Throne Speech clearly defined three
priorities, outlined below, for British Columbia that his government
will move on in the fall legislative sitting.
1. Making Life More Affordable.
• On housing: close fixed-term loopholes on leases to help curb unjust rent
increases and grow the province’s stock of “affordable” rental housing.
• On wages: establish a fair wages commission to help usher in a
$15-an-hour minimum wage for BC.
• On fees: overhaul ICBC and BC Hydro to better manage BC resident-
incurred charges.
2. Improving Services.
• On education: restore proper classroom composition funding to give BC
students the support and resources needed to succeed, and introduce a
universal child-care program.
• On healthcare: reduce (then eliminate) MSP premiums and increase
access to quality public care for residents across the province, including
tackling B.C.’s overdose crisis and expanding treatment for addicts.
• On transportation: provide residents with disabilities access to increased
transportation initiatives (again) like a subsidized annual bus pass.
3. Build A Strong, Sustainable and Innovative Economy.
• On Industry: sustainably support BC’s traditional economic engines like
forestry, mining, agriculture, aquaculture and natural gas development.
• On innovation: develop BC into a world leader in engineered wood
products and value-added resource ingenuity.
• On infrastructure: develop a new capital investment plan for BC
focusing on building new schools, hospitals and roads throughout the
province, fostering high-skilled job growth.
2. “We’re going to see upwards of $3 billion in spending the next year, including the carbon tax, and income taxes are going up. They appear to
be on track to squander the money we built up.”
Todd Stone, BC Liberal MLA, Kamloops-South Thompson
“We’re not expecting a sea change, but some important things have been signaled. What this government was trying to signal was they are
trying to strike a balance out of the gates … overall the balance was not too bad.”
Val Litwin, President and CEO, BC Chamber of Commerce
“I’m very encouraged to see the BC government making bold decisions to work in partnership with the City, first responders, front-line
community service workers and people with lived experience to scale up response to the drug overdose death crisis.”
Gregor Robertson, Mayor of Vancouver
“We applaud the government for phasing out the PST on business purchases of electricity, in keeping with the recommendation of the
Commission on Tax Competitiveness. However, we are concerned about the rising, cumulative cost of doing business in the province as a
result of tax increases.”
Greg D’Avignon, President and CEO, The Business Council of British Columbia
Edelman Vancouver | September 2017 | 1400 – 1500 West Georgia St | Vancouver, BC V6G 2Z6 | 604 623 3007
While BC Budgets are normally presented annually, in an election year, the
new government is required to present a budget within the first 90 days of
forming cabinet.
Budget 2017 Update is rooted in spending promises reached through
public consultation efforts over the past few months, and seeks to ensure
sustainable, solutions-based approaches to ongoing and emerging public
policy issues.
With a healthy $2.7B surplus left by the BC Liberals, BC NDP Finance
Minister Carole James forecasts a surplus of $246 million in 2017-18,
leaving the government with considerable economic bandwidth to deliver
on a myriad of campaign-trail policy announcements and priorities
outlined in the Throne Speech.
Budget 2017 Update also clearly states these commitments will be funded
by higher revenue forecasts over the fiscal plan period, and increases to
BC’s existing tax system, including:
• Introducing a provincial personal tax rate of 16.8% on taxable income
over $150,000 (up from 14.7%);
• Increasing the general corporate income tax rate to 12% (up from 11%); and,
• Increasing the provincial carbon tax by $5 per tonne of CO² effective
April 1, 2018.
THRONE SPEECH PRIORITIES OUTLINED IN BUDGET 2017 UPDATE:
1. Making Life More Affordable.
• $208M to construct 1,700 new affordable rental housing units;
THE UPDATE
REACTIONS
• $291M to help construct 2,000 modular housing units for BC’s homeless,
and $170M over three years to provide 24/7 staffing and support; and,
• $472M to increase monthly income and disability assistance payments
by $100.
2. Improving Services.
• $681M increase over three years for BC’s K-12 education system to
help improve classroom supports for 3,500 new teaching positions,
sustainable enrollment growth, and capital funding;
• $322M for an immediate, evidence-based response to the opioid crisis
through prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery efforts,
improved data collection, and increased law enforcement; and,
• $189M over three years to improve home and residential care for
seniors, and restoration of the UBC Therapeutics Initiative providing
evidence-based information on prescription drugs.
3. Build A Strong, Sustainable and Innovative Economy.
• $100M to the Canadian Red Cross to help BC evacuees, communities
and businesses impacted by wildfires, and $140M in forest projects
focused on wildfire risk reduction, reforestation, habitat restoration and
FireSmart awareness;
• $19M to provide free Adult Basic Education and English Language
Learning in K-12 and post-secondary institutions; and,
• Reducing the small business corporate tax rate to 2% (down from 2.5%),
reinstating the tax benefit for credit unions, and phasing out PST on
electricity bills.