Dear Editor:

This letter is written regarding the B.C. Liberal’s claim of having a “balanced budget” in this province versus our province’s true financial situation.

While Premier Christy Clark has loudly proclaimed a balanced budget indicating sound fiscal responsibility by her party, the true fiscal situation is anything but sound.   

If one makes $25,000 a year and spends $25,000 on one’s expenses (housing, food, clothing etc.), then one does have a balanced budget.

However, if one also has a $100,000 mortgage on their house and during the year they obtained a second mortgage on that house in the amount of a second $100,000 mortgage then, instead of being financially sound, they have gone significantly deeper into debt.

This is exactly what the B.C. Liberals have done.

According to well-respected economist Erik Andersen, the Liberal government has failed most British Columbians.

“The Liberal government has already made B.C. Canada’s most indebted province,” wrote Anderson. “Projects like Site C, which Premier Christy Clark is shown announcing here, will only make matters worse (Province of BC/Flickr).”

According to the Auditor General of this province, “BC Hydro owes $101 billion, of “contingencies and contractual obligations” posted a year past.

“These obligations come from BC Hydro’s commitments to buy power from private suppliers at far above market rates, and from other infrastructure built under public-private arrangements.

“As such, it is in addition to our conventional debt and hidden from public view.”

B.C. has the dishonour of having the largest total of this type of debt of all the provinces and about 75 per cent of what is shown for the Government of Canada.

Hands-down, B.C. wins the race to be the most indebted province in Canada (see page 40 in the Auditor General’s report dated Feb. 2017).

Anderson goes on to state that, “When the Standards and Poor report was issued last year, B.C.’s total financial liabilities increased from $117.8 billion to a staggering $185.7 billion.”

As reported in BC Public Accounts, they were only $38 billion in 2001. Most people strive to be debt free and so should the politicians who manage B.C.’s resources and financial accounts.

The Liberals, instead of decreasing B.C.’s debt, have increased it exponentially and have hidden this fact behind purported sound fiscal management as indicated by ‘balanced budgets’. The people of B.C. deserve much better and will hopefully get much better following the latest election.

Fred Marshall

Midway, B.C.