BC government reveals 2018 budget plan

> Housing and childcare initiatives could affect Douglas students

Katie Czenczek
Staff Writer

 

ssues faced by students may be in
focus in the latest provincial budget.

The NDP provincial government
released its budget plan on February 20.
The budget includes plans to improve
housing and child care accessibility and
affordability within the upcoming year,
and further down the line. Starting
in September, those making less than
$45,000 per year may be eligible to
receive free child care to allow families
with young children to return to work
and continue their education. The
plan also highlights how the NDP
government hopes to create more child
care spaces throughout the province.

Judy Darcy, New Westminster's
MLA, said in an interview with
the New West Record that she
is “proud” of the budget.

“This budget really does put people
first, and this budget really is going to
make a difference in the lives of a lot of
people in New Westminster,” she said.

Michelle Bergen, an early childhood
educator, said she is pleased with
some of the initiatives in the budget.

“So far, am excited that a
plan for children, families, and
educators is rolling out,” she said in
an interview with the Other Press.

“T understand that it will take many
years to unravel the plan entirely.”

Bergen said she thinks the budget
will be a boon to students who wish to

work in early childhood education.

“T think it will help draw new
students into the field as wages will
increase,” she said. “It is now the time to
be an educator and make a living wage.”

The proposed budget also plans
to deal with the housing crisis. There
will be tax increases for foreign and
domestic real estate speculators who are
not currently paying taxes in BC, and
a five per cent increase on the foreign
buyers tax. The budget plan proposes
to invest more than $6 billion over a 10-
year time span in affordable housing,
which includes student housing.

Ava Tate, a Douglas College student,
said in an interview with the Other
Press that the current housing situation
in Metro Vancouver is a problem.

“It’s obviously overpriced,” she said.
“I think that young people are going
to have to either lower their standards
of living or move out of the city.”

Tate also went on to say that she’s
unsure if the proposed budget plan will
be enough to stop the housing crisis.

“I know that the Toronto market
has cooled down, but I don’t know if
it will be the same [for Vancouver. ]

Even with the new plan,” she said.

Ethan Charleton, a Douglas
College student, said he approves of the
housing crisis measures in the budget.

“I think the plan is definitely
useful for students wanting to move
out,” he said. “Vancouver, it’s a good
city, but it’s not Manhattan. Renting
shouldn't be as expensive as the bigger
cities, we don’t have the jobs for it.”

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Coquitlam to utilize new technology —

> Creating a smarter city

Colten Kamlade
Staff Reporter

 

he City of Coquitlam has announced

that they will be considering
adopting a plethora of new technological
initiatives to help solve city problems.

Work first started on the project
back in 2016, but was only presented
to city council this year. Some of the
ideas that have been presented include
interactive touchscreen kiosks set
up in public spaces, WiFi access at
Spani Pool, and piloting Skype for
business and video conferencing.

Danny Bandiera, manager of
information communications and
technology for the City, said that
although these initiatives may sound
costly, the benefits of such improvements
were far reaching. Moreover, he said, the
city will actually end up saving money.

“In addition to saving money in the
long run, these initiatives will help us
in improving our citizens’ services and
customer experience, develop smart
transportation solutions, maintain public
safety and security, migrate towards a
smart city, empower staff to be better at
what they do, and improve operational
efficiency and productivity,” he said in an
email interview with the Other Press.

How much the initiatives
will actually end up costing,
however, is still up in the air.

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“The cost of these initiatives
has yet to be finalized and primarily
depends on the scope of the
initiatives that will be brought
forward through the budget process
on an annual basis,” Bandiera said.

A couple of the most interesting
ideas on the table are video analytics
software to help police respond to safety
concerns and a new citizen mobile
engagement app. The latter, according
to Bandiera, has been highlighted asa
key priority for residents of Coquitlam.

 

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“[By using the app] residents
will be able to locate Parks and Trails,

WiFi spots, be reminded of city events,

report an issue, and more,” he said.
The analytics software

would be utilized by the RCMP

to reduce risk during events.
“Current technology trends

in public safety are related to the

growing use of video analytics to

track and predict crowd dynamics

in situations such as events, and to

use this technology to proactively

react to potential safety issues,” he
said. “We will continue to work with
the RCMP and support their needs in
crime analytics, as well as proactive
use of visual analytics to sustain
Coquitlam’s level of public safety.”
According the City of Coquitlam
website, the creation of the Technology
Roadmap has involved considerable
research. This includes a community
survey, input from the Coquitlam Youth
Council, advice from a technology
consultant, and a review of staff needs.

Illustration by Cara Seccafien

Photo of Coquitlam City Hall via Wikipedia