Cost of living relief a priority in upcoming budget: premier

While it won’t be in time for Christmas, the province says it’s searching for ways to help British Columbians deal with the recurring costs of daily life.

Premier David Eby tells CityNews that when the budget is released in February, he hopes it will include some relief for costs like hydro bills or insurance costs.

“So many British Columbians are struggling with cost right now with rising interest rates, groceries, shrinkflation and everything else,” Eby said. “We have found a bunch of ways to support British Columbians, (such as) free birth control, more affordable childcare, car insurance, getting rid of the tolls, but the work’s not done.”

However, Eby says scrapping the carbon tax won’t be included in any of the province’s cost-cutting measures.

“When Alberta did that, we saw the gas prices come down briefly, but then go right back to where they were. So that’s not something that we’re looking at,” he said.

“But there are other opportunities, we think, where we can support people with affordability without increasing the profits of oil and gas companies.”

When it comes time to head to the ballot boxes in October, Eby says he hopes his government’s actions on housing will give British Columbians an idea of the direction the province could continue to head towards, if his party is re-elected. He cites short-terms actions such as Airbnb reform and long-term actions such as BC Builds as part of his government’s repertoire.

“We’re not going to solve the whole housing problem before the next election, but people are going to see where we’re going,” he said.

Similarily, Eby says healthcare — specifically cancer treatment — is a huge focus for his government in the new year. Eby says he wants British Columbians to be consistently receiving in-province care within a “clinical treatment window.”

“The goal is we have to be within that clinical treatment window, which is why we’re opening the new cancer centres across the province… and why we’re doing work with BC Cancer around research, so that British Columbians also get access to cutting edge cancer treatments right here at home.”

The new year will also bring a stronger emphasis on early detection and vaccines for preventable cancers, Eby says.

However, when asked by CityNews when everyone in B.C. will be able to receive cancer care within a “clinical treatment window,” Eby couldn’t provide a definitive date.

Looking towards 2024, Eby says the province has already begun putting pieces in place to tackle next year’s wildfire season. He says he hopes the new year will produce more evidence of ways the province’s strategy around critical issues is starting to pay off.

“The only way I’m gonna get to keep this job is if I’m showing people, if our team is showing people, that we can make progress and we can address these issues in ways that they find credible and believable because they can actually see the change,” he said.

“Generally, I’m very hopeful that the 2024 is when people start to see some signs of hope around these really complex issues.”