FQRSALE
WHITEWATER
KAYAK:
Fiberglaskevlar
SScL
$295.00.
Safety
floatauonbags,
aup
,
available.
a
mf
accessories
naauie,
aiiu
561-0736
vjaut'&
.
Aaij-
:
rt-aA
Avatein
561-vm
MIKE
HARCOURT
Leader
of
the
Official
Opposition
"The
Myth
of
the
Balanced
Budget"
The
Vander
Zalm
government
is
spending
your
tax
dollars
to
keep
alive
a
my
th
that
they
have
balanced
B.C.'s
budget.
The
facts
say
it's
time
that
myth
was
put
to
rest.
New
light
is
being
shed
on
the
current
government's
so-called
"balanced
budget"
and
it
tells
a
much
different
story.
First
the
Auditor
General,
the
public's
independent
watchdog
on
government
finances,
weighed
in.
He
scoffed
at
the
claim
of
a
balanced
budget,
calling
the
figures
misleading
and
inaccurate.
The
government's
'budget
stabilization
fund,'
more
commonly
known
as
the
B.S
.
fund,
is
"strictly
an
accounting
technique
to
alter
the
bottom
line,"
he
said,
adding:
"I'll
keep
asking
the
government
not
to
refer
to
that
set
of
figures."
Then
came
a
review
from
the
most
prestigious
accounting
firm
in
B.C.:
Peat
Marwick
Thome.
They
said
flatly,
"the
accounts
are
in
a
deficit,"
and
said
the
expected
deficit
for
this
year
is
$2.6
billion
a
far
cry
from
a
"balanced
budget".
Peat
Marwick
Thome
went
on
to
accuse
the
Vander
Zalm
government
of
creating
general
confusion
with
the
B.S.
fund,
to
help
disguise
the
facts
about
B.C.'s
finances.
No
wonder
the
Finance
Minister
gets
all
tangled
up
trying
to
explain
his
B.S.
fund.
The
title
explains
it
all.
If
all
this
sounds
familiar,
it's
not
the
first
time
the
Socreds
have
been
caught
fudging
the
books.
Remember
the
Coquihalla
fiasco
and
its
$500
million
overrun?
There's
no
denying
the
Coquihalla
is
an
impressive
and
importanthighway.
But
the
current
government
said
it
would
cost
no
more
than
$375
million,
when
the
final
price
tag
was
close
to
one
billion
dollars.
It
took
a
judicial
inquiry
to
expose
the
truth
behind
that
one.
The
inquiry's
final
report
found
"the
financial
reporting
of
the
Coquihalla
project
to
be
tainted
with
an
atmosphere
of
deceit."
It
went
on
to
say
the
Socred
government's
"deliberate
and
planned
actions
were
politically
motivated,
and
designed
to
give
the
impression
that
the
Coquihalla
was
on
budget."
So
there
you
have
it
the
Vander
Zalm
government
wants
to
keep
us
in
the
dark
about
the
true
state
of
B
.C.
'
s
finances.
The
FORcTT
5SSS-Si.
iabe
..(Coo)aVtStoSt.
S-SSfSt
&?a
only
news
they
want
out
is
their
phoney
TV
"news
updates."
It
serves
their
purpose
to
perpetuate
the
myth
that
they
are
the
only
ones
who
care
about
your
tax
dollars.
Unfortunately
for
them,
the
Auditor
General
and
Peat
Marwick
Thome
deal
in
facts,
not
myths.
And
the
words
they've
used
to
describe
this
government's
financial
bookkeeping
artificial,
arbitrary,
meaningless
should
help
explode
the
Socred
myth
of
a
balanced
budget.
School
Spending
Increases
$398
Million
Finance
and
Corporate
Relations
Minister
Mel
Couvelier
anounced
on
April
19,
1990
that
overall
spending
on
primary
and
secondary
education
will
increase
by
$398
million
to
$3
billion
this
year.
At
the
same
time
because
of
the
new
supplement
to
the
Home
Owner
Grant
and
the
new
block
funding
for
schools
residential
property
tax
increases
for
school
purposes
will
be
held
to
an
average
5.5
per
cent
this
year.
"With
funding
at
a
higher
level
than
ever
before,
we
believe
there
is
no
need
for
additional
funding
outside
of
the
block,"
said
Couvelier.
Should
school
districts
wish
to
raise
additional
property
taxes
to
spend
more,
they
can
do
so
with
approval
of
the
local
taxpayers
through
referendum.
Included
in
the
spending
plans
of
the
Ministry
of
Education
this
year
is
$140
million
for
a
total
so
far
of
$
1
84
million
to
implement
the
recommendations
of
the
Royal
Commission
on
Education,
and
$10
million
more
for
the
Computers
in
Education
and
Pacific
Rim
Initiative
programs.
The
Ministry
of
Advanced
Education,
Training
and
Technology
wil
receive
over
$1.1
billion
an
increase
of
$132
million
over
last
year
to
go
toward
the
operating
costs
of
the
universities,
colleges,
distance
education
and
other
programs
in
supportof
their
post-secondary
institutions.
Funding
for
the
Access
for
All
program
will
almost
double,
to
$68
million.
This
will
include
an
additional
2,400
student
places;
funding
to
plan
for
a
proposed
new
university
in
Prince
George;
introduction
of
fourth-year
university
courses
in
Kelowna,
Kamloops,
Namaimo;
and
funding
for
the
establishment
of
the
new
school
of
Business
Administration
at
the
University
of
Victoria.
Spending
on
student
financial
assistance
will
rise
by
16
per
cent
this
year,
to
$58
million.
1-0736
0ylncIudeeatbei;
$3.7
MILLION
MATCHING
GRANT
TO
UVIC
Mel
Couvelier,
Finance
and
Corporate
Relations
Minister
and
MLA
for
Saanich
North
and
the
Islands
announced
on
May
7
that
$3.7
million
in
funds
have
been
approved
to
match
dollar-for-dollar
private
sector
donations
to
the
University
of
Victoria.
Couvelier,
making
the
announcement
on
behalf
of
Advanced
Education,
Training
and
Technology
Minister
Bruce
Strachan,
explained
that
government
funds,
allocated
under
the
University
Matching
Grant
Program,
will
allow
the
University
to
expand
its
student
union
building,
purchase
new
land
and
computers,
and
create
new
endowed
funds,
including
a
scholarship,
bursaries
and
fellowships.
The
$3.7
million
is
the
University
of
Victoria's
share
for
the
second
year
of
the
program.
Under
this
program,
the
government
has
committed
to
provide
a
total
of
$110
million
over
six
years
to
match
$
1
10
million
of
approved
private
sector
cash
and
gift-in-kind
donations
raised
by
the
three
public
provincial
universities.
This
will
make
a
total
of
some
$220
million
in
new
initiatives
possible.
Since
the
program
began
in
1988,
the
universities
have
successfully
matched
all
available
government
funds.
This
has
allowed
them
to
establish
a
large
number
of
endowed
chairs
and
scholarships,
aquire
research
equipment
and
initiate
planning
and
construction
for
several
new
buildings.