Government apologists may consider it extreme to characterize the Campbell government as balancing its budget at the cost of increased pain and shorter lives for the poor and unfortunate, but consider the facts. The Canadian Institute for Health Information provides health statistics on a consistent basis for each of the provinces. Public sector spending on health care in BC has typically increased at annual rates in excess of 5% although from 1994 to 1998 the increase averaged only 3%. According to budget consultation documents released by Finance Minister Gary Collins (http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/tbs/consult04.pdf), health spending is "planned" to increase by only 0.75% next year, 1.87% the following year, and by nothing in 2006-07.

When the NDP increased health spending by 3% per year from 1994 to 1998, the opposition Liberals campaigned with the claim that "NDP cuts to health care have created a crisis" (NED page 18). Gordon Campbell was quoted in his New Era Document saying:

"It's time to put patient care first. To do that, we must renew public health care, through better management, adequate funding, proper staffing, and sound strategic planning."

Campbell thought that funding increases of 3% per year were inadequate, yet as Premier he is suggesting an average of less than 1% per year for the next three years!

What happens to the Campbell budget if health care spending increases by the inadequate, but larger, 3% per year? That would mean almost $240 million more for health care next year, rising to $700 million more in 2006-07. If nothing else changed, that would mean continued deficit budgets for the next two years, and a surplus in 2006-07 that is less than the normal forecasting allowance. Of course, other things will change such as windfall profits from high natural gas prices, but the Campbell budget was hiding those estimates under the guise of being fiscally conservative. The day after the First Quarter Financial Report was released government announced record oil and gas sales of $428 million for the month of September. A day earlier they had revised their annual forecast to just $539 million for the entire year - oops, there's a windfall profit!

If they proceed as "planned" for the next three years, thousands of people will suffer needless pain and some may die because of cuts to health care that will create a crisis. They saw that when they were in opposition, but that was then and this is now.