Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Colombie-Britannique 38e 3e Discours du budget 20 février 2007 Carole Taylor Minister of Finance British Columbia Liberal Party Hon. Speaker, today I present Budget 2007. It's the third of five budgets this government will table in its current mandate. It is also our fourth consecutive balanced budget. As you recall, in our first mandate, budgets focused squarely on the hard work needed to balance the budget and to turn our economy around, reducing taxes, cutting red tape and encouraging businesses and our people to come back home to British Columbia. That work has paid off. We have now, without a doubt, one of the leading economies in Canada. We are backed by a triple-A credit rating, our first in over 20 years. Our unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent in January, is at its lowest level in over 30 years. Business and industry are strong in almost every sector and every region of the province. We are looking to the future with confidence, but we must never take this success for granted. Building and maintaining a growing economy demands attention. It demands loyalty to those policies that brought us this far. It demands prudence. The result of these policies and the commitment to stay the course is a strong economy, and that allows us to focus attention and dollars on the priorities of the people of British Columbia. In the first budget of this mandate, we extended new supports to our seniors. In the second, we invested in the future of our children, and today we take one more step forward. This year we focus on meeting a challenge that touches every one of us. It's a challenge that comes in part as a result of our strong economy, as a result of the success of our province. It's the challenge of housing. Budget 2007 presents the most comprehensive, aggressive housing initiative this province has ever seen. A home is, of course, much more than four walls and a roof. It's where we're most comfortable, where we belong. Home is the centre; it is the foundation of our lives. It is a fundamental starting point for building a future. It is also, for most of us, the single largest factor in our cost of living and in our quality of life. How do we ensure that those most in need have shelter? How do we help the single working mom or dad who is having trouble making the rent? How do we help that young couple afford their first home? Or after they've contributed for so many years, how do we help our seniors stay in the homes where they raised their families? These aren't easy questions, but the solutions are vital to our quality of life. That is why Budget 2007 is dedicated to housing. It builds on the comprehensive Housing Matters strategy that the province released this fall. But it goes beyond breaking new ground with new support for everyone, from the homeless to the homeowner. Let's begin with the needs of the homeless, which are at the same time fairly straightforward but also very complex. The straightforward part is that they need a place to live. The complex part is working to address the broader issues that contribute to people being homeless in the first place. Those issues may include mental illness and may include addiction. They may include a difficult past, or sometimes it's simply a run of bad luck that leads people onto our streets. Whatever the cause, the effect is intolerable. We must do more, both in the short term and in the long term, building on the progress made through the Premier's Task Force on Homelessness, Mental Illness and Addictions. We now have approximately 1,000 year-round shelter beds for those in need. When inclement weather hits, additional beds can be opened in a matter of hours. This works well as an interim measure, as we've seen this winter, but we need more. Budget 2007 will immediately increase the number of beds available full-time, all year round, by almost 30 percent. This budget provides $27 million over three years to convert nearly 300 of our cold-wet weather beds to year-round shelter beds and provide related support services, and that will help ensure that more of our neediest British Columbians have a safe, warm place to sleep. However, these beds are, by definition, short-term accommodation. To get back on their feet, people need longer-term, more stable housing, and in many cases they need ongoing support. Today we're announcing up to $38 million in new funding for housing initiatives around the province for those who are currently homeless or at risk of being homeless. In cooperation with non-profit societies, these projects will provide housing and support services to people suffering from mental illnesses or addictions or who are vulnerable in some way. These new dollars will help support projects such as the first residential addiction treatment centre for male youth on Vancouver Island, a group home in Kelowna to help the homeless become independent, housing units designed for women with both mental health and addiction issues in the downtown east side of Vancouver. Budget 2007 will also invest more in transition houses for women and children escaping domestic violence. It provides $6 million to help ensure that transition houses can provide the safe, secure base for these families where they need to heal and start rebuilding their lives. This money will ensure 24-7 access whenever it is needed. These are all good steps towards creating a better quality of life for those in the greatest need, those who are homeless or forced to flee their homes. We also have a number of other people in this province who may be at risk — people who, with income assistance, are just getting by from month to month. But in a tight rental market, they are vulnerable. These individuals, too, need the sense of security that comes with a stable home, and Budget 2007 responds to them as well. As the Premier announced in the fall, we are raising shelter rates for people on income assistance. Effective March 28 the shelter rate will increase by $50 a month. This means that a family of four will receive up to $700 a month for housing, and it also means British Columbia will have the highest shelter assistance rates in Canada for employable singles, couples and single-parent families. In addition, we're harmonizing benefits for children so that parents on income assistance will all receive the same support regardless of their circumstances. This primarily will benefit parents with disabilities and those who face persistent multiple barriers to work. They will now receive up to $97 a month in additional support. As well, we are raising the support allowance for employable singles, including single parents, by $50 a month over and above these improvements to their shelter rates. These increased income assistance benefits, worth $188 million, will make a real difference for thousands of families and individuals. But again, they are not the only answer. We also need supportive housing. We must ensure that there is enough, and enough diversity to meet the needs of the people of B.C. For example, we obviously have an aging population, and as we age, our needs change. Sometimes it means that we need a home with built-in railings or, as our movement becomes unsteady, wider doors and hallways to accommodate wheelchairs. Sometimes we need someone on site who will simply help with our meals or our housekeeping. Sometimes we need emergency response monitoring or other assistance. As needs change, so too must the kinds of social housing we provide. Budget 2007 will provide $45 million over four years to upgrade up to 750 of our social housing units to help people age in place and to provide the kinds of housing our communities need. As we announced in the throne speech, we will also work with municipal governments to help ensure that sites and zoning for new supportive housing are built right into community plans so that projects can move ahead quickly and smoothly. These measures will make a significant difference, but there are other pressing issues in a fast-growing province where housing and rental prices are amongst the highest in Canada. Subsidized housing meets many people's needs, but we cannot build it fast enough to bridge the gap between supply and demand. So what's the best way to help lower-income working families, people who find it tough just to pay the rent at the end of the month? How can we help them be secure in their homes so that they have a strong base from which to plan their futures? We already have a model that works well for our lower-income seniors. The SAFER program provides monthly cash payments to subsidize rent for over 15,000 British Columbians who are 60 years or older. In 2005 we doubled funding, as everyone remembers, for SAFER. We made it more accessible, because it had proven to be so effective. Now we are using that SAFER model to provide new assistance to working families. British Columbia's new rental assistance program introduced four months ago supports families with annual incomes below $20,000. But we must do more. With this budget, we are moving to immediately expand that program, raising the income threshold to $28,000. That means 5,800 additional families — so that's more than 20,000 families in total — will be eligible to receive extra money to help with their housing costs. This benefit is portable, so families can use it to offset their existing rent or to move to other, more suitable homes for their children. This rental supplement will help take some of the weight off of working parents' shoulders and give them a stronger sense of stability and security. For many people, however, the most secure and stable housing option is ownership, which can also be a challenge in this growing economy. Prices are high, and they keep going up. In 2006 alone, total residential property values increased by 24 percent provincewide. Now, that says a lot about the strength of our economy and the confidence our people have in the future. But what about young people, just starting out, wondering how on earth they are ever going to afford their first home? Imagine. You've planned, you've saved your money, you budget carefully, and then you think you might just have enough for a down payment and prices jump another 10 percent to 20 percent. We do have a first-time-homebuyers program to help people get a foot in the door by exempting them from the property transfer tax, but it's time to adjust this program to better reflect what's happening in the market. Today we are announcing two key changes which together will make the dream of owning a home a lot more accessible for many young people. First, we are raising the threshold for the first-time-homebuyers program. Effective immediately, first-time buyers can receive the full benefit when they buy a home valued at up to $375,000. Now, that's an increase of $50,000 in the lower mainland and Greater Victoria, but in addition, and for the very first time, the threshold will be uniform right across B.C., meaning an increase of $110,000 for first-time homebuyers in other parts of the province. Property values are soaring in every part of the province, with some of the biggest increases, in fact, in places like the Okanagan, the Kootenays and the north. In fact, statistics released this fall showed that average selling prices were higher in Kelowna than in places like Toronto and Calgary — second only to the city of Vancouver. That's the new reality, and these changes — raising the threshold, making it uniform across B.C. — will help more of our young people buy their first home, saving them as much as $5,500. With this budget we're also providing new support for first-time buyers whose homes are built by volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. These are lower-income working families who contribute sweat equity in return for affordable interest-free mortgages. As a government we want to encourage and support those people and organizations that help make affordable housing a reality for so many B.C. families. All of these changes to the first-time-homebuyers program will now help more people get into the market. But what about those who already own homes and, as their assessments rise, are worried about losing their homeowner grant? We must never be dismissive of those genuine concerns of B.C. homeowners. Losing the grant can make the difference between independence and dependence, between staying in your home versus being forced to move. As a result, we are making improvements to our homeowner grant. As the government announced in January, the full grant will now be available for homes worth up to $950,000. This new higher threshold means 95 percent of B.C. homeowners will continue to be eligible for the full grant of $570 — or $845 for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities — saving homeowners $14 million a year. However, even this adjustment does not take into account the low-income senior whose home — perhaps bought just after the war, bought some decades ago — is now valued at more than our stated limit for the homeowner grant. In the breadth of one assessment, that senior can go from receiving over $800 to nothing, and that is a big hit for someone who's on a fixed income. I've personally talked to people in this situation. I've received correspondence on this issue, and I have also received a letter from a member of the opposition on this matter. I've seen the distress that these high assessments have caused some of our seniors who are really worried about losing their homes. This is not something that our seniors, who have given so much, should have to endure, so we're going to change it. Starting now, low-income seniors, veterans and people with disabilities will be eligible for our homeowner grant regardless of their home's assessment. Eligibility will be based on the same thresholds that we have for premium assistance under the Medical Services Plan. Seniors, of course, will also continue to have the option of deferring their property taxes until their home is sold. This option is currently available to homeowners 60 and older, but uptake has recently really increased. It has risen fivefold just since 2001. However, we believe this program could benefit even more people. Since many British Columbians are choosing to retire earlier, we will now introduce legislation this session to lower the age for property tax deferral from 60 to 55. Housing is the cornerstone of strong social policy, and increasing affordable housing is a key element of the government's specific leadership agenda. The measures I've outlined so far will make a real difference for a long list of people who face specific housing challenges. But what about all those other families and other individuals who also work hard? They pay their taxes. They care for their children. They support our communities. They keep our province and economy going. What about them? Despite our thriving economy, too many families are still feeling pressed, feeling as though they personally are not sharing in the benefits of these good times. Too many families are feeling the pressure of high housing costs and still finding it hard to make ends meet. So what can we do as a province? Well, we can start by leaving more money in their pockets. Today we are announcing a 10-percent cut to personal income taxes for individuals earning up to $100,000. This 10-percent cut is in addition to the 25-percent tax cut introduced in 2001 and the B.C. tax reduction introduced in 2005. Together, these changes make a real difference, and 250,000 British Columbians will now pay no provincial income tax as a result of all of these changes. Others have seen reductions of up to 70 percent, and most have seen reductions of between 30 and 35 percent since 2001. These are real, tangible, significant improvements. For example, a young person working part-time, earning $20,000 a year, will see their provincial income taxes reduced by almost 70 percent. A family of four with both parents working, earning a combined total of $70,000, will now save more than $1,800 a year. That's money they can put towards their own personal priorities, dollars that can help each and every family cope with the high cost of housing in British Columbia. We mustn't forget — and with two former Finance Ministers close by to remind me — that we have come from a time in the '90s when high taxes were driving people and businesses out of British Columbia. But with hard work, persistence and a commitment to lowering taxes whenever possible, we will now have the lowest personal income taxes of any province in Canada for individuals earning up to $108,000. This tax relief will help each and every taxpayer in our province with their housing costs, so Budget 2007 has been crafted to help the people of B.C. with their personal housing challenges, whatever they may be. It takes a comprehensive approach, with initiatives for the homeless, those on income assistance, people living in social housing, families renting market housing, first-time homebuyers, long-time homeowners, seniors, veterans and those with disabilities. But that's not all. At the end of the day, a strong economy and a balanced budget with a strong surplus allow us to do one more thing. They allow us to leave a housing legacy for our children. As part of Budget 2007 we are introducing a $250 million housing endowment fund that will exist in perpetuity to stimulate and encourage new ideas and innovation in housing. We must find new ways to meet the diverse needs of those individuals and families who aren't being served through older, more established programs. We need new ideas for a new age. We need housing choices for the aging parents of disabled children who want to partner with government in finding solutions. We need different housing options for those with addictions and mental illness. We need to rethink what "aging in place" means, considering that a quarter of our population will be over 65 in the near future. This new housing endowment fund will set aside $250 million from this year's surplus in a special account. This money will be invested to generate an estimated $10 million each and every year. That's an additional $10 million that will be available year after year to support new and innovative housing solutions over and above our existing programs. A strong economy has made this possible, and it's incumbent upon government, in good times, to make provisions for the future. This $250 million housing endowment fund is a legacy we leave for our children — not just today but for tomorrow as well. These housing initiatives and supports for B.C. families represent an investment of more than $2 billion over four years. This budget does go beyond housing. It commits, over four years, an additional $468 million to enhance programs and services for children and youth at risk and for people who have special needs. That includes, specifically, $48 million in new support for adults with developmental disabilities; another $10 million for their care providers; and $93 million for children and youth with special needs, including those at risk. There is $178 million for policing, corrections and the justice system, to help protect communities and our citizens; $189 million to strengthen communities through local infrastructure and transportation costs; $315 million for economic development, including support for reconciliation of aboriginal rights and title and enhanced post-secondary education and training opportunities; as well as $103 million for environmental leadership. Now, this government does not come new to the issue of protecting our environment. It has always been our priority. It has been one of our great goals since 2004, when they were first introduced. Each budget builds on the previous one with support for new ideas and new initiatives, and Budget 2007 is no different. This new funding to protect the environment will allow us to extend our support for hybrid vehicles, buy 20 new hydrogen buses, exempt wind power from the school property tax, extend tax relief to all biodiesel fuels, create an environmental secretariat to support the climate change team and establish the new green city awards. In addition to these funds, the budget provides $38 million over four years for Local Motion grants to encourage and reward green initiatives. Next year's budget will build on these improvements and directly support the climate change plans that will be developed in the coming year, led by our climate change team chaired by the Premier of this province. Of course, this budget is not just about new initiatives. It supports and sustains over $35 billion worth of programs and services in the coming year alone. In education, even with declining enrolment this school year, B.C. school districts received their single largest funding increase ever. Budget 2007 builds on this achievement. Total funding will rise to an estimated $7,900 per student in 2007-08, and that's an increase of 4.1 percent over the current fiscal year. We do want every child and every family to think of their educational future. That is why we are investing approximately $40 million per year to implement the children's education fund. As the Premier announced last fall, the fund will invest $1,000 for every child born in British Columbia in 2007 and beyond, money that will grow with them and that they can use to offset the cost of attending a B.C. post-secondary institution in the future. Budget 2007 fully funds the compensation packages and service improvements achieved at the bargaining table in 2006, and these agreements provide the stability we need going forward so that we and our public sector employees can work together as partners for the good of British Columbia. But as I've said before, we cannot be complacent. We can never take this success for granted. There's always more work to do and always another challenge just around the corner. Health care is a perfect example. As we announced in January, we are committing $885 million to health care — new money just for the year 2007-08. That includes a $100 million health innovation fund to encourage and assist our health authorities to move forward immediately with new ideas to improve patient care. The budget for health care is now $13.1 billion. It's up more than 7 percent from the year just ending, and as the throne speech says, total health spending is up over 50 percent since the year 2000. That rate of increase is not sustainable over the long term, so as we all participate in the Premier's Conversation on Health, we will be looking for new ways to provide better care for our patients, new ways to ensure the sustainability of our health care system. Similarly, as we proceed this year to determine the requirements of our dramatic new climate change policy, additional funding will be required in Budget 2008 to support our environmental initiatives. In addition to these spending pressures, we face economic risk to our three-year fiscal plan. While we saw strong growth in 2006, forecasters are cautious about 2007 and beyond. Labour shortages, a slowdown in the U.S. housing market and volatile commodity prices are all key risks that we face going forward. This past year natural gas prices fell well below forecast, driving natural gas revenues down by nearly $900 million. So we must continue to manage carefully. That's why we must set significant forecast allowances in our three-year plan — to accommodate these spending pressures and economic risks. We have also increased our contingency for infrastructure spending to reflect concerns over rising construction costs and the expected addition of new health care projects. A balanced budget demands that we do stay loyal, and we are staying loyal, to the policies that since 2001 have helped to turn our economy and finances around. Besides lowering taxes, we also promised to reduce the red tape that businesses often found to be complicated, contradictory and, in some cases, overlapping. We have done that by reducing our regulatory burden by 41 percent. In light of that success, I am pleased that British Columbia has been asked by the government of Canada to bring our experience to the table and help shape new regulatory reforms that will benefit all Canadians. I want to thank our Minister of Small Business and Revenue for not only his work on deregulation but also his work on the provincial sales tax review. As a result of consultations around this province with small businesses, this budget implements 13 measures that are worth $120 million in this fiscal plan to improve the clarity, the consistency and the administration of the PST, measures that will help small businesses everywhere in British Columbia. While I'm saying thank you, I would also like to thank…. Because this is important to all of British Columbia, I want to thank the entire Finance and Treasury Board staff for their work under the exceptional leadership of Tamara Vrooman. We are blessed as a province to have such talented, dedicated individuals who work on behalf of the people of B.C. with such integrity. As government, it's part of our job to meet challenges through our leadership but also through our willingness to listen and respond to the needs of those we serve, and we are doing precisely that. Look at what we've achieved through our negotiating framework — four-year agreements across the public service, which have brought not just stability and certainty but real improvements in services. Look at what we're doing with employers and training institutions to meet the shortage of skilled labour. Look at how we're bringing people and communities together right across B.C. to have a meaningful dialogue about the needs and priorities of health care. And look at what we're doing in this new budget to respond to the housing challenges that result from this strong, growing economy. For those most in need we're adding more shelter beds, raising the shelter allowance for people on income assistance. For those who need supportive housing, we're upgrading subsidized units to make them more accessible for seniors and others with special needs. For low-income working families we're providing more rental supplements, direct cash payments they can apply to the housing options that best meet their needs. For those moving into the real estate market, we're enhancing the first-time-homebuyers program. We've also raised the threshold for the homeowner grant, and we're now extending the eligibility to lower-income seniors regardless of their home's assessed value. For those who want more flexibility in budgeting as they plan for retirement, we will introduce legislation to allow property tax deferral beginning at age 55. To make it more affordable for families to call this province home, we're cutting personal income taxes by another 10 percent for the first $100,000 of earnings. Everyone who pays tax in this province will benefit. As well, and finally, perhaps most importantly, we are creating a legacy for our children, for future generations — a $250 million housing endowment fund. This fund will help foster innovation and ensure that new solutions continue to emerge as our population and our province continue to grow and change. As the saying goes, the only thing constant in life is change. We do have a dynamic province with a dynamic population, and we will always face new challenges. For example, in the year ahead British Columbia will take bold action to combat climate change. Now, that is a critical, long-term commitment, one that will take time and effort and great determination to meet. But it's only one of the challenges that lie ahead. I am confident that we can meet these challenges together as a province. As the throne speech pointed out, British Columbians accomplish what our minds set out to do. However, we will never be able to do everything we want all at the same time. But with careful planning and continued prudence in our fiscal management, we can continue to make steady progress in priority areas, step by step. The first budget of this mandate focused on seniors. The second budget concentrated on the needs of our children. This budget, step 3 of five, focuses on housing, which affects us all. Not long ago British Columbians were leaving here in search of opportunity. They couldn't see their futures here. They didn't feel at home anymore, and they left by the thousands. Today that trend has completely turned around. Last year more than 40,000 people chose to move to our magnificent province. People from all over Canada, from all over the world, chose B.C. More than 4.3 million people now call British Columbia home, and with this budget, we're helping to ensure that it's a home in the truest sense, a place where every one of us can share in the province's success, where we work and raise our families and plan for the future with a real sense of confidence, and where we build opportunity and prosperity together.