B-C’s provincial deficit is predicted to hit a record this year with billions of dollars in new spending promised for infrastructure and supports for families and businesses. Finance Minister Selina Robinson forecasts a 9.7-billion-dollar deficit this fiscal year and says it may take seven to nine years to balance the books. She says the province will help the recovery with 8.7 billion dollars in infrastructure spending over three years that will create 85 thousand jobs. Another 1.6 billion dollars is promised for poverty reduction strategies and an extra 3.1 billion for the health-care and mental health systems.
