MLA Tegart disappointed by cuts to education in BC Budget

The BC NDP tabled their 2021 budget on Tuesday.

Minister Selina Robinson forecasted a $9.7 billion deficit for this fiscal year. The Province is promising to spend $8.7 billion on infrastructure over the next three years, $1.6 billion for poverty reduction strategies, and $3.1 billion for health-care and mental health systems.

Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart was listening to the budget hoping for investments to support the riding but was left disappointed.

“I’m looking for an economic plan, a vision for the future, and long-term planning to encourage and support private sector growth and jobs,” began Tegart. “I’m really sorry to say I didn’t see a lot of that. Not a lot of support for the resource sector. We’ve seen cuts in different ministries including FLINRO, which is the ministry of forests. We’ve also seen a $5 million cut in energy, mines, and low carbon.”

“I’m looking and I’m disappointed that there isn’t a lot of future planning. It’s definitely a deficit budget and we knew it would be, but I’m concerned about how long they’re projecting it to last,” added Tegart.

Minister Robinson stated it may take seven to nine years to balance the books.

MLA Tegart also serves as the Opposition Critic for Education and was dismayed to see cuts made to the file.

“Very disappointed to see there are cuts in the education budget and there doesn’t seem to be the long-term support for the safety initiatives during COVID. People in schools are telling me they are very concerned about what September is going to look like,” said Tegart.

“Many school boards are looking at deficits because of the pandemic. They have been letting Government know for quite some time that there are extra costs as they put together their safety plans, and September will not be much different than the end of June,” added Tegart. “If we’ve learned nothing else, we’ve learned that this pandemic is often not predictable. We need to be ready, we need to be sure parents are confident that safety plans are in place and we need to have those safety plans funded. If we want children back in school in September, we have to ensure the community and parents have confidence that those safety measures are there.”

Tegart was pleased to see the budget speak to mental health and addictions, as well as the opioid crisis in BC.