If you had to pick any place in the world to get through the current global financial downturn, provincial Finance Minister Colin Hansen says there's no better place to be than B.C.
Hansen even guarantees that health care spending will rise in the next provincial budget, as will spending on post-secondary education.
But while other provincial premiers are contemplating budget deficits in the face of the coming economic slump, Hansen says it would be absolutely inappropriate for the province to pile debt onto future generations.
The minister says provincial revenues are higher than predicted for natural gas and drilling rights and the employment rate is still strong.
And he says the provincial government has a built in forecast allowance, or cushion, to allow for unexpected downturns in revenue.
Hansen says Premier Gordon Campbell will unveil plans to stimulate the economy in an economic update to be delivered Wednesday.
