CUPEs BC leadership is denouncing the provincial governments latest budget, which balances the books by cutting spending on health care and education.
BC finance minister Gary Collins announced a small increase in health care funding, but carefully avoided mention of a previously announced $100 million cut to regional health care funding.
The health care cuts come despite the province receiving $138 million in new federal health care funding.
Meanwhile K-12 education continues to wither as real funding per student declines and funding increases for private education at 5 per cent per year while public funding increases at only 1.8 per cent.
College and university students will once again have to rely only on loans, as the Campbell government ended the $30 million post-secondary student grant program.
The government also took $63 million out of social services programs for children at risk. Welfare services will be slashed by $106 million.
Those cuts will translate into bed cuts in hospitals and care homes, slashed services, longer surgery waits and the loss of thousands more skilled, experienced health care workers, says CUPE BC president Barry ONeill.