Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Doug Clovechok said the provincial government’s budget surplus should have been used to help working-class residents.
According to the province’s 2022-23 public accounts, B.C. ended the fiscal year with a $704-million surplus and no operating debt.
“[Premier David Eby] has basically blown the surplus while people continue to suffer,” said Clovechok. “Fifty per cent of British Columbians are about $200 away from insolvency. We all wonder where the premier has spent all that surplus on and what the results are.”
Clovechok feels this money could have been better allocated to help out B.C.’s residents.
“I talked to a young family recently and they’re nearly in tears. They’re making decent money, but they can’t keep up with expenses like groceries and gas, yet the NDP seems to be on a spending spree,” said Clovechok.
The MLA feels the provincial government has spent too much expanding its own employment.
“The public sector has gone up by about 35 per cent, which is about a $17.1 billion bill,” said Clovechok. “So I ask my constituents if the service they get from the government has gone up by 35 per cent, and the answer is a stark no. This province is in trouble, financially.”