No room for error in 2004/05 provincial budget
February 17, 2004 |
BC Office
(Vancouver) Gary Collins tabled his first balanced budget as Finance Minister today, but his projections for 2004/05 leave little room to move.
"This budget is balanced, but on a razor's edge," says Marc Lee, an economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. "If there are any economic shocks -- such as a repeat of last year's forest fires, or if planned changes to federal equalization payments go ahead -- we'll be back in the red."
2004 Solutions Budget uses Olympics deadline as focus for plan to revitalize BC's economy, public services
February 12, 2004 |
BC Office
(Vancouver) The provincial government needs to prepare British Columbia for a world class performance in 2010, rather than ignoring pressing social and economic needs. That's the goal of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' 2004 BC Solutions Budget, released today. It uses the Olympics deadline as the focus for a six-year public investment strategy that would go beyond the minimum requirements for hosting the games, and use the Olympics as a springboard to revitalize the provincial economy.
BC's Budget 2004 fails Olympic test