42nd & Grace

It’s the little things that get you in the end.

And in Budget 2026, the NDP have introduced the proverbial thousand cuts – providing a little something for everyone to be angry about.

For seniors, it’s a new tax on cable and landlines.

For those in the middle-class, it’s the raising of the base income tax rate.

For small businesses, there are a few but the taxing of private security is a prominent one.

For those worried about housing affordability, it’s the introduction of new taxes on services related to construction that will simply be folded into the cost of a home.

For those concerned about aging parents, the pausing of seven new care homes across the province will cause more angst.

For those who were hoping for more affordable housing, there’s a double whammy: the cancellation of the Community Housing Fund call from 2025 and no clarity on whether the Rent Bank will get much needed dollars to keep people out of poverty.

Those are just a few of the cuts. There are more that will become known as they are currently hidden in the budget minutiae (see ending of independent office of the Merit Commissioner) and others that will flow from the sought-after efficiencies of Finance Minister Brenda Bailey.

Everyone understands that something needs to change. The premier’s deputy minister referred to the current financial situation as “unsustainable” and she’s correct.

The problem is this budget doesn’t seem to understand that.

Despite an increase in taxes, the deficit is still going to increase by around $4 billion, if you believe the forecasts. The challenge is the last few years haven’t filled anyone with fiscal confidence. Former premier John Horgan worked hard to shed the NDP’s tag of fiscal incompetence and that reputation has been restored.

In this budget, as an example, government expenses are budgeted to rise almost four per cent while the economy’s growth rate slumps to 1.3 per cent. The total provincial debt will hit $234 billion in two years, more than tripling in just over a decade.

Governments do go through cycles, coming into power with energy and ideas and slowly that begins to fade. This budget seems to prove that adage. Tinkering and avoiding the hard work, leaving it for someone else.

What is most frustrating about this budget is it is going to put more strain on those trying to provide services – within government and outside. They’ll be told to do more with less and no real lens will be applied to the worthiness of certain programs.

It’s going to be a Hunger Games situation out there, as groups rightly complain about the short-sightedness of certain decisions. Some may get a reprieve, as the province does like to sit on a large contingency fund for emergencies. Many MLAs in marginal seats may argue that programs they champion qualify for emergency funding.

For some reason, our leaders have become fixated on the illness and not how to prevent the sickness from occurring. In particular, the decision around community housing, the rent bank and care beds reek of despair. Something has to be done, so let’s do as little as we can and, as a result, cause even more long-term damage.

Mismanagement means the third largest spend is on debt servicing. As Rob Shaw notes, “B.C. is now paying more on servicing its gigantic debt every year than it is on helping its most vulnerable citizens with welfare and disability payments.”

The idea that we’re all sharing in the pain, for no gain, is absurd. While the province fiddles, the people most in need will be burned. And in a province this rich, that’s simply wrong.

As Jill Atkey of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association said: “In total, 3,000 new affordable homes that were planned to be built, won’t be built in the next several years. This includes housing for women and children leaving violence, for low- and moderate-income families and seniors, for people with disabilities, and for working professionals who don’t have a bank of mom and dad to fund a down payment.” 

The little things will add up eventually.