Overview
- At a Vancouver breakfast, board president Bridgitte Anderson told David Eby the business community is not on the same page over Tuesday’s budget.
- The plan forecasts a $13.1 billion deficit with nearly $4 billion more projected next year, prompting calls for a credible path to sustainability.
- Measures include expanding the provincial sales tax to some professional services and the first increase to the bottom income‑tax bracket in more than 25 years.
- Eby cited inherited infrastructure debt and weaker natural‑resource revenues, pledged administrative savings while protecting health and education, and emphasized growth from major projects and federal defence spending.
- He defended the PST change as reflecting a shift to a services economy, while business leaders contrasted the outlook with the forecast surplus of almost $6 billion when he took office in 2022.