B.C. budget offers few surprises

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 | 3:07 PM PT CBC NEWS:

B.C. Finance Minister Colin Hansen unveiled his post-Olympic budget in the legislature on Tuesday afternoon in Victoria, but there were few surprises contained in the economic blueprint intended to pull B.C. out of the recent economic recession.

Instead, the 2010-11 budget contained a few new programs for homeowners, no new major infrastructure spending announcements and lots of promises to capitalize on the momentum generated by the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Among the highlights in the 2010-11 budget forecast were:

• Details about a plan to allow families with children under 18 years old to be able to defer their property taxes until they sell their homes, a plan that was previously announced earlier in the year.
• The popular LiveSmartBC homeowners program will return with $35 million in funding to provide grants for homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
• Community groups will have access to an extra $8 million in gaming grants. Overall the program will be increased to $112 million, after being slashed from a high of $156 million in recent years.
• There were no significant changes announced for the planned rollout of the harmonized sales tax on July 1, except that all revenue from the tax will be earmarked specifically for health care.
• A new 2010 sports and art legacy fund will get $30 million for youth sports, coaching and athlete development and $30 million for arts and cultural events and organizations.
• Homeowners outside the Lower Mainland and Victoria's Capital Regional District will be eligible for a new northern and rural homeowners grant, worth up to $200. Beginning in 2011

Spending priorities across the ministries remained largely unchanged from last year, with key public services such as health, education and social service getting small increases at the expense of other ministries.

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From BC Budget Highlights: Reader-friendly, plain-language overview of Budget 2010. PDF

We are standing by our commitment to provide a Northern and Rural Home Owner Benefit for British Columbians outside the Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Capital Regional Districts. Beginning in 2011, a benefit of up to $200 will be available — over and above the Home Owner Grant. Many people will be able to receive up to $770 a year towards their property taxes. Seniors will be able to receive up to $1,045