VICTORIA – The 2014 budget makes families pay the price for B.C. Liberal mismanagement, said New Democrat finance critic Mike Farnworth in his budget response presentation in the legislature Wednesday.

“The bottom line of this budget is that life will be much less affordable for families, and the blame for the cost increases lies at the feet of the Liberals and their mismanagement,” said Farnworth.

“The Liberals have failed to deliver jobs, and they’ve failed to diversify the economy, ignoring key industries such as forestry, mining, and the tech sector.

“They’ve put all of their eggs in the LNG basket, and they’re even messing that up. They failed to meet their own timeline on delivering a taxation framework, their promise to have a plant up and running by 2015 is broken, and their fantasy prosperity fund is nowhere to be seen.”

The slide presentation Farnworth delivered in the legislature can be viewed here.

Farnworth said all of this mismanagement is happening while the provincial debt climbs to record highs – $69 billion by the time the budget’s three-year forecast plays out.

“This budget makes it very clear that B.C. families will be the ones who pay for this Liberal mismanagement.”

Farnworth said hard-working people are going to see themselves paying over $900 more in fee and rate hikes by the end of the three-year forecast.

“There is a $32 increase for every round trip a family makes on B.C. Ferries between Victoria and Vancouver, hydro will cost the average family $477 more over the three-year fiscal plan and medical premiums will add up to another $400 for families.”