{"id":21825,"date":"2016-09-24T12:21:19","date_gmt":"2016-09-24T17:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=21825"},"modified":"2016-09-24T12:21:19","modified_gmt":"2016-09-24T17:21:19","slug":"premier-clark-on-historic-debt-binge-says-conservative-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=21825","title":{"rendered":"Premier Clark on \u2018Historic Debt Binge,\u2019 Says Conservative Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Premier Clark on \u2018Historic Debt Binge,\u2019 Says Conservative Leader<\/a><\/h3>\n

\u2018Debt-free BC\u2019 2013 campaign promise called unrealistic, simplistic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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\"Premier
Clark promised LNG revenue would mean \u2018debt-free BC.\u2019 Instead, debt up 45 per cent during her tenure.\u00a0David P. Ball<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Premier Christy Clark won the provincial election in 2013 promising a \u201cDebt-Free BC,\u201d but an opponent now accuses her of overseeing a \u201chistoric debt binge\u201d since coming to office.<\/p>\n

Dan Brooks, who\u00a0won back<\/a>\u00a0the BC Conservative Party leadership on Sept. 17 after stepping down earlier this year, said in a press release that last week\u2019s first quarterly\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0shows the province\u2019s total debt has grown by 45 per cent \u2014 $20.1 billion \u2014 under Clark.<\/p>\n

Total provincial debt was around $45.2 billion when Clark took office in 2011 and has swollen to $65.3 billion, according to the quarterly report. It is projected to hit $71.9 billion in 2019.<\/p>\n

The total debt includes accumulated operating deficits from past years as well as borrowing for any number of purposes, including building schools, hospitals, social housing and public transit. It also includes \u201cself-supported debt\u201d such as that carried by Crown corporations including BC Hydro.<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Mike de Jong, commenting on the quarterly report, highlighted the operating surpluses that mean the province has stopped adding to the operating debt. He also pointed out that taxpayer-supported debt has been dropping when expressed as a percentage of the province\u2019s Gross Domestic Product and is lower than in most provinces.<\/p>\n