Delta North MLA Scott Hamilton discussed highlights of the new provincial budget last Wednesday at a Delta Chamber of Commerce meeting.
Changes to medical services plan premiums is “the one everybody is talking about,” he told the audience at the Delta Town & Country Inn.
With this budget the government intends to move forward with the elimination of MSP premiums altogether, he said.
On Jan. 1, 2018 MSP premiums will be cut in half for British Columbians with annual family net incomes of up to $120,000, he noted. The change would mean annual savings of up to $900 for families and up to $450 for individuals, according to the government.
Hamilton said the government is trying to help the middle class and the move will have a greater impact rather than reducing the provincial sales tax by a percentage point.
He listed $796 million for children and families, $740 million for K to 12 sector education and $700 million for first-time homebuyers as some of the budget’s key investments.
The first-term Liberal MLA said the budget shows results of prudent fiscal planning and that it’s the government’s fifth consecutive balanced budget.
“This government designed and followed a plan that incorporates various levels of fiscal prudence and it’s a plan that’s helped B.C.’s finances stay on solid footing against the same global economic forces that have driven other economies down.”
During the question and answer session Hamilton was asked about rural school bussing in Delta possibly returning. He said he believed it should be brought back but that the issue is something he needs to talk to the education minister about.
The budget was released last Tuesday by Finance Minister Michael de Jong.
While the budget includes a number of positive initiatives, it is little more than posturing for the upcoming election, said Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington in a response released on her website.
