Premier Christy Clark, left, looks on as B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong tables the budget in the B.C. Legislature in Victoria, on Feb. 19, 2013.Jonatan Hayward/The Canadian Press
When Finance Minister Mike de Jong tables the B.C. budget bill Thursday in the Legislature, it will resemble closely the bill presented on Feb. 19, when a provincial election was imminent and the bill served as a sort of platform document for a governing B.C. Liberal Party seeking re-election.
Much has happened in B.C. politics since then but the budget legislation, it is expected, will be left largely intact. As The Canadian Press reports, De Jong says some of the numbers have been updated to reflect slightly lower than expected revenues, but he's still calling for a modest surplus of around $200-million.
He says the month-long legislative session will focus on debating and passing the budget.
The following is a summary of our February budget coverage, a refresher for those wondering what to look for from Thursday's budget bill.
News:
- Energy revenues alter B.C. budget (Feb. 18, by Justine Hunter)
- Budget turns to big business to put B.C. back in black (Feb. 19, by Justine Hunter)
- B.C. has RESP contributions, child-care tax credit in works for 2015 (Feb. 19, by Daniel Bitonti)
- LNG project plans clouded as B.C. mulls new export tax (Feb. 19, by Brent Jang and Nathan VanderKlippe)
- B.C. bar association decries trims in court spending (Feb. 19, by Ian Bailey)
- Health care to get a boost, but critics slam premium hikes (Feb. 20, by Ian Bailey)
Opinion/Analysis:
- After years of fanciful forecasts, B.C. Liberals need a realistic pre-election budget (Feb. 18, by Justine Hunter)
- B.C. Liberals hope budget endorsement wins back their fiscal reputation (Feb. 18, by Gary Mason)
- Liberals facing battle to preserve B.C. budget surplus (Feb. 19, by Gary Mason)
- Editorial: B.C.’s Premier Clark delivers solid budget (Feb. 20, by the editorial board)
- Community: Compare reader priorities with actual B.C. budget (Feb. 20, by Mason Wright)
- B.C. budget reveals a government’s last gasp (Feb. 20, by Daniel Veniez)
With a report from The Canadian Press
Mason Wright