About CA$25 million will be allocated to fund British Columbia’s (Canada) tourism revitalization efforts. That’s according to Finance Minister Selina Robinson who presented the province’s 2022-2023 budget on February 22.
The minister added that the millions in funding provided a lifeline for more than 8,000 tourism businesses. Additional funding will provide support for non-profits impacted by the pandemic and the arts, culture, and music sector.
“This year’s budget will continue support for the tourism sector as it recovers, with CA$25 million earmarked.”
The B.C. government is expected to spend more money on childcare, climate resiliency, and health care and make capital investments in hospitals, schools, and roads, according to a release.
B.C. finished the fiscal period with a smaller deficit than was expected. It was forecasting an annual deficit of CA$9 billion, but it ended up being CA$483 million in the red, primarily because of a large tax windfall from property taxes through house sales. They are, however, anticipating a deficit for 2022-23 of CA$5.4 billion.
Robinson defended the budget’s plan to spend instead of saving. The province has decided to operate a CA$5.4-billion surplus in the budget for 2022-23 to pay for the pandemic response, unavoidable climate catastrophes, and the cost of implementing new public service labor contracts.
