One day after the British Columbia NDP government abandoned a tax discount which was a signature board in the party’s electoral campaign, Prime Minister David Eby defends the decision.
With British Columbia budget a few weeks old, the Minister of Finance Brenda Bailey announced Thursday that the $ 500 per person / $ 1,000 per household tax discounts were suspended in the midst of the evolutionary price threats of the US President Donald Trump.
Speak with global Focus BC On Friday, Eby said that the discount was proposed when British Columbia seemed to emerge from a period of high inflation and low consumer confidence.
“Now, what we see is because of pricing threats, we have companies that make decisions:” Well, we are not going to develop for the moment, we will wait and see what’s going on “” he said.
“All of this has training effects, it has been evaluated by economists who make projections for us.”
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Eby said that the province was moving towards a “return to essential” mentality, emphasizing basic services such as health care and education, and to prepare for the commercial dispute by diversifying markets and accelerating major projects.
The comments occur one day after Eby’s return from a trip with ministers from across the country in Washington, DC, drawing meetings face to face with American officials.
Eby said the Republicans with whom he spoke warned him of taking Trump’s comments seriously, whether they are linked to the prices or his recent fixation on the annex to Canada.
“They said things like, well, all this could disappear if Canada becomes the 51st state,” said Eby.
“I take the threat very seriously and what is clear is that we cannot count on the United States.”
Next Thursday, British Columbia MPs will return to the Legislative Assembly for the first time since the provincial elections last fall, where the Throne’s 2025 speech will exhibit the government’s agenda for the year in come.
It is a program that was strongly affected by an United States which has gone from the ally and the trade partner closest to Canada to an authentic, but unpredictable, threat.
The Government of the NPD is expected to introduce new legislation aimed at non -pricing reprisals, such as additional costs on American companies, as well as legal changes to accelerate the approval of the project and try to decompose interprint trade barriers.
“It is weird to think that it is easier to trade with the state of Washington than in Ontario and we work with other provinces and perhaps something in the legislation,” said Eby.
The NPD is expected to unveil the 2025 budget on March 4, one day before Trump’s next deadline to impose 25% prices on Canadian products.
& Copy 2025 Global News, A Division of Corus Entertainment Inc.