My question is to the finance minister. Speaker, this government has a history of underspending on the public services that people rely on. Today, the independent, non-partisan Financial Accountability Office released their second-quarter update, and it’s no surprise to see that, once again, the province is spending less than planned in key areas, including $859 million less in health, $413 million less in education and $244 million less in children’s and social services.
Why does this government have such a hard time investing resources that they promised to?
Speaker, budgeting is about choices. The government at one point acknowledged that this money had to be spent. There was a need for it, and they failed to do it. Why did the government choose to underinvest in public health by half a billion dollars?