Even though Finance Minister Colin Hansen brought in a provincial budget with spending increases in health care and education, reaction has been mostly negative from East Kootenay stakeholders.

Cranbrook District Teachers Association President Wendy Turner said she fears the $140 million increase to the Education budget lowers the prospect of Mount Baker Secondary School in Cranbrook being replaced anytime soon.

“ Personally I have concerns whether that amount of money will be enough for a project as large as a neighbourhood of learning school to replace Mount Baker when you consider all the other educational spending priorities in the province,” Turner said.

An Education Ministry operating grant increase of $112 million resulted from public pressure and advocacy efforts, Turner said. Despite this, she said there are no increases for any other cost pressures such as pension contributions, MSP increases, transportation costs, BC Hydro rates, or costs associated with carbon neutrality.

Turner said only half of the annual facilities grant has been restored and the association that represents school district secretary-treasurers in the province says the system needs at least $300 million more in the 2010 – 2011 school year just to maintain the status quo.

“It’s a very unfair spot to put teachers in when they say they’re increasing funding but they download other costs and it’s not really an increase at all.”

But Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce Vice President Lana Kirk praised the budget for putting the province back on the road to fiscal responsibility. “I think it’s important to have a balanced budget and even though there’s a deficit in the budget in these tough economic times it is moving us towards a balanced budget in three years.”

The budget also gives indications of reducing government spending in non-vital areas and this will help stabilize the government’s fiscal position as the province moves forward, she said.

East Kootenay District Labour Council President Jackie Spain said plans to cut almost 4,000 public service jobs in the province are going to hurt across the board. “I don’t see very much in this budget for people living in the rural areas of the province.”

Instead of laying government workers off, the budget should have brought in measures for job creation and when the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) begins in July along with an increase in the carbon tax, things are only going to get worse for British Columbians, she said.

Ktunaxa Nation Council Chief Negotiator Kathryn Teneese said she was disappointed to see the Aboriginal Relations budget cut from $67 million to $37 million. “We’re going to keep on working and doing what we can do but it’s going to be impossible to do what we would like to do but we have to keep the process going.”

One of the largest cuts in the province was the almost $400 million taken out of the forestry budget. This is expected to result in more layoffs in the forest Ministry and more self-regulation in the industry.

But industry figures say they need to know more details about the cuts before they know the impact on them. Speaking from Quebec, Tembec Executive Vice President Dennis Rounsville said he hasn’t seen a copy of the budget speech yet and is not in a position to comment.

Evan Kleindienst, Manager of Forestry Services for Interior Reforestation, said he’s mostly in the dark on the budget too. “We’ve seen a little bit of cuts in our existing contracts . . . I know our clients have definitely indicated to us that budgets are tight this year and they’re going to be watching them pretty closely.”

But Kleindienst said it’s too early to say yet if the cuts to the forestry budget will have a big impact on firms like his and others.

Wildsight Executive Director John Bergenske said he’s dismayed to hear about the cuts to the forestry budget as well as similar cuts to the Environment Ministry.

“Forestry has already taken a lot of hits over the years and it’s unfortunate they’re going to be taking more now. It’s going to leave them at a low level of efficiency.

With the Ministry of Environment also being cut, it’s going to be hard to provide the province with the kind of environmental stewardship it needs, Bergenske said.

“There won’t be much enforcement or much oversight of any kind because they won’t have the personnel to look after an important public resource.”

However, Bergenske said he was glad to see the Live Smart BC program survive the cuts. The program which encourages recycling and the use of wood damaged by the Pine Beetle is a move in the right direction, he said.