VICTORIA—Today’s provincial budget makes important investments that continue the BCNDP government’s work to address the key issues impacting workers and their families, CUPE BC President Karen Ranalletta said today.
“I’m very happy to see that our advocacy for bringing before- and after-school childcare into B.C. public schools is beginning to pay off,” said Ranalletta, who was in Victoria to attend the budget lock-up. “I’m also pleased to see continued action to fight climate change, additional resources to support Reconciliation, and an overall recognition that public services and the people who provide them will help our communities recover from the pandemic.
“In the coming days we will have a much more detailed analysis of the provincial budget—and what it means to CUPE members and their communities. In the meantime, while there are obviously very significant challenges ahead of us, B.C.’s economy is in much better shape than most of the rest of the country,” said Ranalletta.
“In our policy submission to the government’s pre-budget consultations, we urged the government to resist the demands from right-wing think tanks and politicians to cut services in order to reduce the deficit. Finance Minister Selina Robinson’s second budget has done just that, and makes investments in many of the key priorities we lobbied for.”