Hands up if you’ve ever known somebody who is so insecure about themselves that they try to be popular by rolling out cash? “If you hang out with me, I’ll take you to the movies or dinner. Be my friend, and the sky’s the limit.”
Most recently, somebody we commonly refer to as Victoria has been handing out the bucks, and I mean major dollars.
*A new mental health digital hub that will make it easier for thousands of British Columbians to find the services and supports closest to them is among various initiatives totalling $140 million over three years.
* The Buy Local program will receive $6 million in funding – $2 million a year over the next three years.
* Government is giving schools throughout the province a funding lift of $29.4 million for supplies and resources.
* There’s $469.4 million to expand and upgrade two major sections of the Trans-Canada Highway.
* A magnetic resonance imaging machine will be installed at Vernon Jubilee Hospital in 2018 for $5 million.
The list goes on and on and on, almost daily.
Now of course some of these items come under the umbrella of the 2017 budget, which was unveiled Tuesday. And while it’s no surprise that the financial plan would include new spending, there’s a more important factor at work here.
In just a few months, May to be exact, British Columbians will head to the polls as the Liberals try to secure another term. Whether it’s the never-ending advertisements on TV or the funding announcements, it’s clear that the campaign is well underway.
There will be suggestions of cynicism when the media or critics link government spending to the election, but let’s look at some of the specifics.
In the case of the $29.4 million for school supplies and resources, that’s good news, but keep in mind that figure will be split between 60 school districts. It also doesn’t make up for the millions that have been cut in districts in the past decade. Likely even with this cash infusion, teachers will still be digging into their own pockets for classroom supplies.
As a North Okanagan resident, I am thrilled that VJH is getting an MRI as it will mean better imaging services for patients. But the reality is that physicians have been lobbying for an MRI for years and patients have had to drive to Kelowna for scans. What took so long?
Now obviously the focus is on the Liberals but that’s because they are the ones in power right now. However, spending like a drunken sailor isn’t limited to just that party.
Go back to the 1990s when the NDP held court in Victoria and the scenario wasn’t much different. Cash was rolled out prior to elections in the hopes of convincing voters how great the Clark/Dosanjh gang was. And leading up to May, current NDP leader John Horgan will be making all kinds of promises in his quest for the premier’s chair.
It’s a long-standing strategy within Canadian politics: Use taxpayers’ dollars to hustle their votes.
Obviously the strategy has been successful in the past or it would have been abandoned long ago, but many people are increasingly adverse to the political games. It will be interesting to see if the current spending spree pays off in May.
