B.C. budget fails to protect health care, education: critics

TheB.C. government claims to have protected key government services in the areas of health care, education and social assistance in its September budget update, but critics say that is far from the case.

On Tuesday, Finance Minister Colin Hanson tabled his first budget since the May election, announcing British Columbia would runa $2.8-billion deficit the largest in its history due todeclining revenues brought on by the global economic collapse.

Debra McPherson, president of the B.C. Nurses Union, took issue with the government's claim that health-care services would be protected by the modest increase of about six per cent in the budget.

"I think, quite frankly, that it's a travesty that the minister of finance says he is protecting health services with this budget," she said. "He has ordered the health authorities to balance their budgets despite the fact that he himself runs a deficit, and he knows that in order to do that the health authorities will be cutting services."

McPherson said the government's plan to increase the Medical Services Plan (MSP) premiums by six per cent would also put a greater burden on working people and seniors.

Susan Lambert, the vice president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, also took issue with the government's claim that education would be protected in the budget, while MSP rates were rising.

Medical premiums rising

School boards will have to pay the additional cost of the MSP premiums for their employees, but theyare receiving no additional funding to do that, so the money will have to be cut from classroom budgets, Lambert charged.

"This budget fails B.C. kids. It's a cut. What's happened here is school board block funding has been frozen in the face of rising costs, one of which have been imposed by this government," Lambert said.

School boards are already reeling from cuts to their annual facilities grants and other areas of discretionary spending, Lambert said.

"So, in fact ,what is going to happen on this budget is it is going to have a negative impact on classrooms. Class sizes are going to rise. Supports for children with special needs, in particular, are going to be eroded even more than they are today," Lambert said.

At the post-secondary level, there will be big reductions in student aid funding, and overall funding will remain flat over the next three years, according to Dr. Paul Bowles, the president of the Federation of University Faculty Associations of B.C.

With an estimated$500 millionbeing cut from government ministries outside of health care and education, up to 1,500 jobs could be lost in the public service of B.C. over the next three years, according to Darryl Walker, the president of the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union.

"At this point, we are really uncertain about what the future holds," said Walker, who said he does not expect any job cuts before March 2010.

"Bottom line is, it is means cuts to the public services in this province. We are already one of the leanest public sectors in the country, and we really can't afford to take any more people out, or we are going to have to close more small offices and people in small communities won't have the services they deserve," Walker said.

Judy Darcy, spokeswoman for the Hospital Employees' Union, also accused the government of misrepresenting the real impacts on health care from the budget.

"We have a really confusing and contradictory message on health care in this budget," said Darcy.

"On one hand, the finance minister paints a picture of growth and prosperity. At the same time, health authorities are being told to make cuts of hundreds of million dollars in vital services. Health-care workers are getting a doom-and-gloom message that their wages are frozen.

"What it means is that while they say that health care is protected, we are going to see service cuts on the frontline for health care. Waiting lists are going to get longer, seniors programs are being reduced, vital services like lab services and sterilization of surgical all those they are looking at cutbacks."