Budget 2013 is like previous budgets. It is based on the false premise that if we tweak the past we will get a very different future. This particular budget reflects the BC Liberal priorities. They believe that a balanced budget, no matter what and no matter how implausible, is their ticket to re-election.
It is also based in beliefs about perpetual economic growth and unlimited natural resources that are simply untrue. And, Budget 2013 presumes the people of BC aren’t informed about the financial well-being of the province.
An ever-expanding economy that is dependent on extraction of finite resources is impossible. And the BC Liberal all-our-eggs-in-one-basket strategy of hanging our present and future prosperity on the extraction and liquifying of larger and larger amounts of natural gas through the process of hydraulic fracturing is unconscionable.
This approach has a history of boom and bust that leaves communities, families and individuals in its wake. It also leaves our landscapes exhausted and profoundly damaged. We only have to look to our forestry, fishery and mining dependent communities for evidence of the vulnerability of this economic thinking. Or, in real time we can look to Alberta for evidence of the weakness of 70 years of boom and bust based in a fossil fuel dependent economy.
The focus on one region at the expense of other regions suggests BC Liberals think we should be satisfied with the creation of a limited number of construction jobs and an even smaller number of maintenance jobs in only a few communities in one small slice of the province. The jobs predicted by the budget for northern BC do not address the need for new jobs in Nelson or the fact that if pipe fitters and welders from Kamloops want to benefit from those jobs, they’ll have to leave their homes and families.
Those priorities neglect the need to produce job opportunities – lasting job opportunities – in all parts of the province. For BC Greens, what is missing is an understanding of what a diversified and decentralized economy would look like.
Building a better budget strategy
The Green Party of BC would build a budget with the objective of creating and sustaining jobs across the province – lasting jobs that add real value to every community. It is the responsibility of the government to identify its priorities for the budget and to establish the criteria that the budget must meet. That could include that it be a balanced budget and it would define objectives for every ministry.
Our assessment of the health of our economy should be based on qualitative measures for providing economic value in every town and region of BC. On that measure, Budget 2013 fails. Budget 2013 is simply an accounting exercise, not a plan for improving the economic resilience and strength of every part of BC.
First things first
People want to trust the government, and the budget is vitally important in developing trust. At the moment, British Columbians want to know the true financial situation of the province. People are justifiably skeptical about any promises made by government about the fiscal health of the province.
A Green government would see as its first priority analyzing and reporting to the people of BC on the province’s finances. This would involve looking at the reports of the auditor general and others who can verify the state of the accounts.
What might an open budgeting process look like?
Once the current state of the finances are known and the criteria for the budget are identified, Greens would engage in a substantially different budgeting process. We believe different priorities – and a better future – would result from a transparent process that involves citizens in formulating the budget. Citizen participation would have the added benefit of building broadly based support for the budget and any tax implications the budget might carry.
The process might take the form of a province-wide consultation. MLAs from every party could be given a community consultation budget package that provides them with the opportunity to work with their constituents in identifying budget priorities. Consulting directly with citizens across the province would give the government a much better idea of citizen and community needs. In addition, Greens believe that we need new ways of involving public servants and benefitting from both their expertise and their thoughts about making their jobs and their ministry’s responsibilities more efficient.
Until we have a process that citizens can understand, participate in and trust, the budget will stand as a political document rather than one that serves the interests and priorities of all the citizens of British Columbia.
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