UNBC Political Science Lecturer Jason Morris is of the opinion Budget 2021 is a return to deficits and debt as the government continues to navigate through a pandemic.
He believes the short-term benefit of this approach is helping people out but can also prove to be a barrier due to the possibility of higher taxes.
Morris told Vista Radio the philosophy on how the budget is presented has changed in recent years.
“I think what is interesting is that budgets used to be about how the economy is doing and what the government is going to do about that but there are almost entirely today about social policy. The government is putting a high priority on child and end of life care.”
He added the provincial budget provided a mixed bag for health care in the north.
Morris stated while investments into smaller communities are a welcomed sight, Prince George was left off the list.
“For UHNBC, a long promise about a regional cardiac care centre is not in there at all. We do see improvements along with the Northern Health region for other hospitals in Terrace, Dawson Creek and in Fort Saint James but not in BC’s northern capital.”
While the more populous areas of the province like the Lower Mainland continues to receive the largest amount of attention, Morris was surprised that a major project for that area didn’t get any mention.
“Population-wise, we can always expect a great focus of the budget being where those people live but at the same time, calls for replacement of the George Massey Tunnel in Metro Vancouver seemed to be put on the wayside too as the government has other priorities.”