With the release of the latest B.C. budget, the City of Maple Ridge will push for more infrastructure investment.
Maple Ridge Mayor Dan Ruimy said core services and infrastructure must keep pace with growth, as communities work to meet provincially mandated housing targets.
“Our residents have been frustrated with the shortage of classrooms, hospital capacity, and mental health supports to meet the needs of our rapidly growing community,” said Ruimy. “At a first glance, we are seeing new investments in these services, and we will continue advocating for provincial funding in these critical areas and working to create partnership opportunities with the province to support future growth and expand our local economy.”
The fast-growing city faces rising costs, climate-related impacts and increasing infrastructure demands while working to deliver new housing at an accelerated pace.
“Maple Ridge has stepped up,” Ruimy said. “Now we need the province to recommit to essential infrastructure and provincial service levels needed to maintain the long-term economic growth, health, and livability of our community. We will continue to work with the province, our local MLAs, and all partners to find solutions that meet the needs of our residents and businesses.”
The budget’s emphasis on fiscal restraint underscores the importance of job creation and revenue-generating projects across the region, and Ruimy explained Maple Ridge is positioned to support B.C.’s economic growth through the addition of hundreds of acres of new industrial lands at North 256 Street, and the expansion of the city’s transportation network through the Maple Ridge Moves strategy.
“The finance minister emphasized the need for smart, strategic investments,” Ruimy said. “Maple Ridge stands ready to work in partnership with the province and taking bold steps to expand our economy by creating new opportunities for businesses to grow, unlocking the potential of new industrial lands for the region and investing in the movement of people and goods.”
Maple Ridge East MLA Lawrence Mok called the budget “an assault.”
“It is no wonder that the finance minister of British Columbia thought that she was going to be ‘the least popular person in the province,’” said the B.C. Conservative. “On Tuesday, she tabled a budget that raises taxes, delays projects for the old, the young and cancer patients, while failing to rein in the deficit as previously announced. This budget is definitely an assault on seniors, working families and small businesses.”
He said after 10 long years of NDP mismanagement, the budget makes life more expensive and delivers less. B.C. has gone from a surplus in the first year of NDP government to a projected deficit of $13.3 Billion with provincial debt projected to reach a record of $182B by the end of this fiscal year.
The budget fails to tackle healthcare backlogs, leaving more seniors waiting longer for long-term care, said Mok.
“It also does little to prevent emergency room or maternity ward closures which we have seen over the past few months at the Ridge Meadows and Mission Memorial Hospitals. In addition, long-term care waitlists have tripled, and previously announced long-term care facilities and the Burnaby Hospital Redevelopment now have “TBC” completion dates.”
It hits small businesses with roughly $500M a year in new PST on professional services like accounting, bookkeeping, engineering, and private security at a time when small business owners have to deal with crime and disorder in our downtowns, said Mok.
“The bottom line is: this budget does not make life more affordable, communities safer or services stronger for British Columbians,” he said.
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Lisa Beare, the Education Minister said in social media that the budget “reaffirms our commitment to children and families.”
She pointed to:
• $634 million in new K–12 education funding
• $330 million lift to protect the ChildCareBC services families rely on
• Investments to unlock more child care spaces on school grounds
• $167 million to hire more teachers, counsellors, psychologists and special education teachers
“This is about protecting what matters,” she said. “Stable child care. Strong public schools. Classrooms where students feel supported and seen.”
The B.C. Federation of Students is critical of the budget, saying it doesn’t fund post-secondary education.
The B.C. Nurses’ Union said health care is prioritized in the plan, but noted the budget pauses long-term care facilities and pauses phase two of the Burnaby Hospital and Cancer Care.
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