The B.C. budget tabled last week left the gritty details of cuts - from adult sports to welfare supplements - to trickle out on a near-daily basis.
Adult sports, for example, will be one of the sectors cut off from provincial gaming funds under a new policy that will be announced today.
Although the B.C. government unveiled a new sports legacy fund in the budget to capitalize on the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, gaming money for sports will be limited to youth and disabled activities.
It's the latest fallout from the budget. Rather than tossing all the funding cuts into the maelstrom of numbers on budget day, the B.C. Liberal government has elected to spread out the bad news over a period of weeks.
Today, housing and social development minister Rich Coleman will set out the rules for who can apply for $120-million worth of gaming grants this year. Overall, community agencies such as food banks and arts groups will see less money than they have in the past.
"They'll know they are getting anywhere between 80 and 100 per cent of the money they would be used to," Mr. Coleman said in an interview. "And some groups we felt weren't fitting in may find themselves not getting grants."
Adult sports is one category that no longer fits, he said.
"Why would you be funding my buddy's rugby team when I have got to pay my own golf dues?" he said. "That argument has some resonance with the government."
Since Tuesday's budget, B.C. Hydro's ratepayers have been told to expect an increase of more than 9 per cent this spring and several supplements for people on income assistance were chopped.
The cuts to welfare and disability supports were Mr. Coleman's work, too. He noted that the number of people collecting income assistance has climbed by 15 per cent over last year - costing government an extra $20-million per month.
The changes will mean less money for shelter and medical supplements. For example, persons with disabilities and those on income assistance will no longer be covered for medical supplies including contraceptives, foot orthotics and blood-glucose meters used by diabetics.
"We felt these were frankly add-ons that weren't necessary to healthy living of folks on social assistance," Mr. Coleman said, noting that some of those items are available through other agencies.
Mr. Coleman said the social assistance cuts were not announced in the budget because the communications plan wasn't ready. "Coming out of the Olympics into a budget in just two days, I don't think we were quite ready and I wanted it in a language people could understand."
The toughest belt-tightening is yet to come. Although the B.C. budget ramped up spending by more than $900-million, schools and hospitals are still expected to feel pressure.
By the middle of the month, boards of education will get their allocations from Victoria, and BC Teachers' Federation president Irene Lanzinger predicted the money will be at least $300-million short of what's needed to maintain existing levels of service.
"The system is gradually being eroded," she said. "It means larger class sizes and less support for special needs students."
And by the end of the month, B.C.'s health-care agencies will be told how much they'll have to spend and again, it's likely to fall short of increased demand for medical services.
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority CEO David Ostrow said his agency has been successful in finding efficiencies to meet the gap between the budget and increasing demands. But he said the budget targets, especially by next year, will be challenging to meet.
Paul Varian, president and CEO of Sport BC, released this statement yesterday in response to the new gaming grant budget.
"Sport BC acknowledges and welcomes the Province of BC's renewed commitment to amateur sport that was indicated in last week's budget announcement, particularly with respect to the renewal of direct-access gaming grants and the announcement of the new Sport & Arts Legacy fund.
We are, however, saddened to learn today that total funding from the Gaming & Policy Enforcement Branch to vital community sport organizations has not been fully restored to 2008/09 levels through the removal of gaming funding that had in previous years been issued through bingo affiliations and ticket raffles.
This decision will limit the sport sector's ability to provide for everyone's participation in amateur sport around the Province as a key, lasting benefit to the recent Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games."