r] “Our budget for the 1975-1976 fiscal year has been designed to achieve greater economic equality and social justice in British Columbia.” “This budget is a job security budget. It contains new programs and initiatives; new and improved services for our citizens. This job security budget provides expenditures to maintain and increase employment throughout the economy of British Columbia.” A Job Security Budget The budgetary expenditures for 1975-1976 will be made with people in mind. Expenditures will be made to maintain present job levels and increase employment in the province while also providing meaningful additions to the quality of life. This budget deals with programs to construct new schools, hospitals, low and middle income housing, highways, and homes for our senior citizens. This budget will provide for special employment pro- grams for workers in the forestry sector, public - works building construction, summer employment programs for our younger citizens, shipbuilding in ~ our local yards, community and recreational con- struction programs, and much more. A Municipalities Budget In an historic revenue sharing arrangement be- tween the municipalities and the province, with re- spect to revenue from natural gas exports, one-third of the net revenue produced from an export price over $1.00 of our natural gas Naess into account our federal tax rebate system, and other expenses) will flow to the municipalities in British Columbia. For example, if the new export price of natural gas - is set at $1.50 per mef, the municipalities would receive roughly an additional $20 million annually. At $2.00 per mcf (the competitive value of the fuely, the municipalities would receive roughly $40 mil- lion, which is equivalent to an additional $20.00 per capita payment. In addition, the provincial government intends to make additional per capita grant payments to the municipalities this year and next, in order to ensure that the per capita grant program is kept up to date. Total per capita payments to municipalities in the coming fiscal year will total over $70 million— almost $7 million of this is a result of the new provincial policy. A Fair Taxes Budget Again this year, there will be no general increases in personal income or sales taxes for the citizens of British Columbia. Each homeowner and family farmer will receive the benefits of a doubling of the limits of the school tax removal program. The maxi- mum reduction last year was $40. This year it will be $80. This is in addition to the $200 homeowner grant. Assistance to renters in 1975 will be provided through a new RENTER TAX CREDIT Program. Credits of up to $100 will be paid to eligible renters on low and moderate incomes. The rate of provincial corporate income tax for small businesses will decrease to an effective rate of 10%, while the provincial rate for large corpor- ations will increase from 12% to 13%. An igs’ Citizens Budget Under the HOMEOWNER GRANT program, elderly citizens will continue to receive the extra $50 payment, for a total grant of $250. The budget includes a minimum $80 payment under the RENTER TAX CREDIT program for those aged 65» and over. The budget also proposes to continue the RENTERS RESOURCE G for 1975 for those aged 65 and over. This means that two oes = $80 (or more) for 1975 will be made to this roup. The additional payment is designed to ease the transition to the new income-related program, by providing greater assistance to the elderly who are often the most severely affected by inflation— those people on fixed incomes. Additional funds will be provided to Mincome, Adult Care, Home- makers Programs and Pharmacare to increase the scope of these innovative programs. Furthermore, a special emphasis will be placed on providing ad- ditional housing for our senior citizens. A Social Progress Budget $122 million will be provided to the Mincome fund for our 128,000 citizens, aged 60 or over. Child maintenance care and special services will receive an additional $13 million this year. An addi- tional $102.5 million over last year will be provided to continue the ge of the province's hospitals and medical care. Total expenditures for these pro- grams will rise to over $587 million in 1975-76. B.C. shipyards and marine construction con- cerns will benefit from $40 million to further the growth and service capabilities of our B.C. ferry system. A centralized ferry telephone information system will be launched this spring. One of the most dramatic expenditures will be in the field of education. Increased:grants to schools and reduced homeowner school taxes, additions to university se Lapiaes He grants, student scholarships and bursaries, college, technical and vocational school construction will account for an additional $64.6 million of this year’s budget over last years. Animportant evolution in our educational system is the dramatic increase in the number of part-time students. This trend has been encouraged by gov- ernment funding. Funds will again be made avail- able to enable our educational institutions to respond to the needs of their students and of society. One such need is illustrated by the 5-fold increase in funding for student aid and teacher training scholarships since 1972-73. A Families Budget The budget for 1975-1976 places a high priority on housing. The Department of Housing will be actively involved in building projects for senior citi- zens, as well as supporting the activities of non- profit housing societies. Another area of concentration will be the acces- sibility of rental accommodation for families with children. An aggressive land servicing policy, new community planning and development, and the ser- vicing of Crown land for sale or lease to private in-. dividuals will facilitate this growth of housing and accommodation. In the past year, 181 communities have benefitted from 516 grants from the Community Recreational Facilities fund. The appr eRtaion of additional funds to this program will allow for further community recreational projects. An Agricultural and Industrial Expansion Budget The Farm Income Assurance program, the onl one of its kind in Canada, provides a base by whic production programs can be carried out with the assurance that producer income levels can be safe- guarded. The program will be augmented by $27 million. This program, together with the activities of the Land Commission provides an important meas- ure of job and income security for farmers. Agricul- pt tural Credit programs will be expanded by a further $6 million. This government recognizes the vital role agriculture plays not only in the economy of British Columbia, but in the lifestyle of all British . Columbians. In the coming year, provision is being made for expansion of our successful trade missions, tech- nical and small business assistance, and industrial and economic studies programs. In addition, the British Columbia Development Corporation, formed to provide financial and technical assistance to in- dustry as, to the end of last month, provided 24 loans totalling $2.8 million. 75% of these loans were to small businesses. = A Sharing Budget A sum of $5 million will be allocated for world food relief. This augments the $5 million Agricul- tural Aid to Developing Countries, and Major Disaster Areas Fund, from both capita! and un- expended interest earnings. The British Columbia government will match private sector contributions given to world food relief. If you give a dollar, the government will match that dollar with an equal amount, in order to assist all British Columbians in voicing their concern. It is the intention of your government to establish a new provincial financial institution which will be designed to increase the competition in financial markets, to lower interest rates, to support further economic and social development of our province, to ensure that more of all of our money remains in our province, and to increase the amount of credit extended to low and middle income earners, to farmers, and to small business. For Your Own Copy... | If you would like your own copy of the 1975- 1976 budget write: Budget, Hon. D. Barrett, | Minister of Finance, Parliament Buildings, ! Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4. | “Our wealth is found in the skills of our people and in the resources which they own...” HONOURABLE D. BARRETT, ag -£ PREMIER AND MINISTER OF FINANCE 4 PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1975—Page 10 oe pee ped ee” od ae eee goad bead a " . OF PR TT OAS ERLE ON UATE, ROD CD ee a ee are er aN