Premier David Eby's decision not to recall the legislature until Feb. 18, 2025 means British Columbians will have to wait until what appears to be spring 2025 to receive financial relief promised during the campaign.
Eby said the average household will receive $1,000 in financial relief during this fiscal year ending March 31 without giving a specific date when the cheques would arrive. Government will first distribute the money — estimated to cost the provincial treasury $1.8 billion — through a grant known as the grocery rebate, then make the relief permanent through changes in the tax system in following years.
"It will require legislation to do that because it will be a disbursement to families," Eby said Wednesday, Nov. 27. He added that government won't be able to deliver the relief through the tax system yet because that would require coordination with the federal government.
Eby's office had first announced last week that the legislature won't return until February with a Throne Speech followed by a full legislative session. A decision not to hold a one-day fall sitting followed internal discussions, adding that such a short session would have been unusual and have posed logistical challenges.
Eby's office Wednesday revealed the Throne Speech will take place on Feb. 18 and the budget delivered March 4. The last day of the session will be May 29 with the legislature on break March 17-28, April 21-25 and May 19-22.
While this schedule gives government time to get cheques out by March 31, voices inside and outside the legislature have questioned the pace and substance.
Conservative Party of British Columbia Leader John Rustad said Eby promised relief during the election campaign.
"But now he’s telling them to wait until March at the earliest for the...affordability cheques he loudly touted,” Rustad said. “Eby’s government claims legislation is needed in February, but anyone paying attention knows the NDP’s record on delays. It’ll likely be much later — if it happens at all.”
Carson Binda, B.C. Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said the promised tax relief will put more money in the pockets of British Columbians, but linked it to other measures.
"British Columbians need relief and reducing the tax bill that we pay is the best way for government to give us that relief," he said. "But at the same time, that relief needs to come with spending cuts elsewhere from the government. At the end of the day, we are staring down a $9-billion-deficit this year.
"Stop wasting eye-watering amounts of money and start bringing some some fiscal discipline back to British Columbia, so we can have these long-term kinds of tax cuts instead of what feels like constant tax hikes from this provincial government.
"The legislature should be meeting to tackle the issues that are pressing on British Columbians, those kitchen-table issues that Premier David Eby has been talking about."
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives analyst Marc Lee welcomed government's decision to hand out the money as a rebate, but pointed to research from his colleague Alex Hemingway about the impact and long-term fairness of turning it into a tax break.
"Those with lower incomes wouldn’t receive the full value of income tax cuts since they owe less provincial income tax to begin with," Hemingway said.
"This could worsen inequality in that many higher earners would receive the full benefit of the tax cut, whereas lower-income households pay little or no income tax to begin with," Lee added. Instead, he proposed a more targeted approach aimed at low- to middle-income households.
"For example, the rebate should be designed as a refundable tax credit to benefit all low-income households and be capped or phased out to exclude the top 35 per cent to 40 per cent of earners."
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Eby was asked what he was doing to demonstrate "any urgency" to address the rebate.
"I think the expectation of British Columbians is that we are working on the priorities that they set out for us from the beginning and that is what we are doing," he said. "We will deliver a budget that reflects their priorities around affordability, around making sure that we are supporting our health care system, that we are responsive to the needs in different parts of the province."
He said a "bunch of new ministers" are getting up to speed on their roles.
"They are focused on those priorities and we are also working to ensure that the legislature can work for British Columbians, that we have a stable governance structure to promote prosperity in our province."
Eby was referring to discussions with the B.C. Greens to give the government more political room.
Eby added that financial relief, first through a rebate, then a permanent tax cut, is a priority.
"We promised British Columbians we would deliver that. We will deliver it."
