What to Expect
The Premier is focusing his remarks on what isn’t in the federal budget, namely real movement on housing affordability and the lack of an increase to health transfers. The province is also moving to weekly COVID updates, and last Friday vaccine passport requirements were removed.
Politics will also be focused on the Vancouver-Quilchena by-election, with e-day being April 30. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon is the front runner as the riding is a traditional Liberal strong hold.
Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation Minister Ravi Kahlon will be making a trade mission to San Francisco to promote B.C.’s economic plan to the tech sector.
With the legislature breaking for two weeks, MLAs will be back in their constituencies and Government Ministers will be fanning out across the province for announcements on flood and fire emergency mitigation, student housing and complex care housing.
The Week That Was
B.C. job numbers stayed about the same, with the unemployment rating moving up 0.2 points, to 5.1 percent.
A $1.2 million Mass Timber Action Plan was announced on April 7 that will be used to fund four new mass-timer housing and infrastructure projects. A 783-bed mass-timber student housing and dining project is set to open this fall at the University of Victoria.
B.C. is supporting the development of zero-emission boats through the funding of 17 projects and more than $8 million in funding. The funding is provided by the CleanBC Go Electric Advanced Research and Commercialization program’s second round of funding.
