Greater Victoria – New Democrat MLAs Mitzi Dean and Murray Rankin say investing in education, expanding childcare spaces, and providing affordable housing will help Greater Victoria residents recover from the pandemic, stronger and healthier.
“Our government recognizes the diverse needs of the people of Greater Victoria. The investments in this budget will ensure residents are supported through the pandemic and long after,” said Murray Rankin, MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
Budget 2021 provides funding for over 250 units of affordable housing for Indigenous families and low-to-moderate income seniors and families in Greater Victoria. This funding is in addition to recent investments in hundreds of units of temporary and supportive housing to provide the area’s most vulnerable populations with a safe place to live.
“By creating more child care spaces, as well as improving access to health care by opening the new Urgent Primary Care Centre in the Westshore with one on the way for Esquimalt, we are ensuring that people receive the services they depend on as we build the path to recovery together,” said Mitzi Dean, MLA for Esquimalt-Metchosin.
Other significant infrastructure projects include providing Francophone students with a functional learning space by building a temporary, modular facility for École Beausoleil; creating a space where Indigenous laws will be upheld by building the National Centre for Indigenous Laws at the University of Victoria; and increasing efficiency and pedestrian safety by upgrading the University of Victoria Bus Exchange. This budget also includes the renewal of a historic but obsolete building at Royal Roads University with a Learning and Teaching Auditorium.
Provincewide Budget 2021 commitments include doubling the number of $10 a day childcare spaces, providing free public transportation for children 12 and under, improving care in long-term care homes, and record investments in mental health and addictions services. Continuing to strengthen healthcare services is of top priority in this budget and the dedicated $4 billion in funding for healthcare includes $900 million for pandemic related supports. The New Democrat government is committed to protecting people’s health and livelihoods as we build strong economic recovery that leaves no one behind.
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More information about BC Budget 2021 can be found here: https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2021/downloads.htm