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 the budget protects critical services.
“We are continuing to prioritize investments in education with $634 million towards schools and adding new funding for teachers, student services and support for more inclusive learning. We’re also going to continue to invest in child care services that families rely on by maintaining lower fees, investing in before-and after-school care, and committing $25 million for child care on school grounds.
“People in Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and across the province will also benefit from dedicated help for seniors health services, including out-of-hospital care and improving the quality and safety of long-term care facilities in addition to our continued support of education, health care, and other services,” she said. “This is a part of $2.8 billion that we are committing to our health care system, because we know that we cannot afford to claw back on health care now.”
She said it will also invest $238 million to train people for “good, family supporting jobs that will be available from major projects going forward in B.C.”
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